Track: Systems Dynamics

Abstract

Medical Waste is a problem that existed before the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).  The significant increase in Medical Waste during the COVID-19 outbreak causes these problems to become more urgent and complex because they relate to health, environmental, and economic problems in developing countries. Many interrelated factors influence the management of Medical Waste. A comprehensive analysis is needed to understand the complexity of the problem. This study aims to explore the right strategies and policies in dealing with the amount of Medical Waste during an outbreak such as COVID-19 and in ordinary (non-outbreak) conditions. The factors considered are demographic, operational of the waste generation, emergency, and cost and investment aspects. A Systems Dynamic approach is used in this study to structure the complexity of the problem comprehensively. This research consists of three stages; where the first stage was a preliminary study by conducting a field study, and the second stage was developing the model. The third stage was testing the model. A case study of Surabaya, Indonesia, is selected.