Environmental impact of increased soap consumption during COVID-19 pandemic: Biodegradable soap production and sustainable packaging.

Mahboobeh Rafieepoor Chirani, Elaheh Kowsari, Targol Teymourian, Seeram Ramakrishna

The Science of the total environment 2021 Nov 20

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A year into the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the role of washing hands with soap and hand disinfectants is unavoidable as a primary way to control the infection spread in communities and healthcare facilities. The extraordinary surge in demand for handwashing products has led to environmental concerns. Since soaps are complex mixtures of toxic and persistent active ingredients, the prudent option is to promote eco-friendly replacements for the current products. On the other hand, with the increase in soap packaging waste production, soap packaging waste management and recycling become essential to reduce environmental impact. This systematic review aimed to collect some recent methods for identifying biodegradable and sustainable raw materials to produce and package cleaning agents, especially soap. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Citation

Mahboobeh Rafieepoor Chirani, Elaheh Kowsari, Targol Teymourian, Seeram Ramakrishna. Environmental impact of increased soap consumption during COVID-19 pandemic: Biodegradable soap production and sustainable packaging. The Science of the total environment. 2021 Nov 20;796:149013