Editing Natural disaster (section)

=== On the environment ===
During emergencies such as natural disasters and armed conflicts more waste may be produced, while waste management is given low priority compared with other services. Existing waste management services and infrastructures can be disrupted, leaving communities with unmanaged waste and increased littering. Under these circumstances human health and the environment are often negatively impacted.<ref name="UNEP">{{Cite web |date=2021-10-21 |title=Drowning in Plastics – Marine Litter and Plastic Waste Vital Graphics |url=http://www.unep.org/resources/report/drowning-plastics-marine-litter-and-plastic-waste-vital-graphics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321122658/https://www.unep.org/resources/report/drowning-plastics-marine-litter-and-plastic-waste-vital-graphics |archive-date=2022-03-21 |access-date=2022-03-23 |publisher=UNEP – UN Environment Programme |language=en}}{{CC-notice|by4}}</ref>

Natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes) have the potential to generate a significant amount of waste within a short period. [[Waste management]] systems can be out of action or curtailed, often requiring considerable time and funding to restore. For example, the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami|tsunami in Japan in 2011]] produced huge amounts of debris: estimates of 5 million tonnes of waste were reported by the [[Ministry of the Environment (Japan)|Japanese Ministry of the Environment]]. Some of this waste, mostly plastic and [[styrofoam]] washed up on the coasts of Canada and the United States in late 2011. Along the west coast of the United States, this increased the amount of litter by a factor of 10 and may have transported alien species. Storms are also important generators of plastic litter. A study by Lo et al. (2020) reported a 100% increase in the amount of [[microplastics]] on beaches surveyed following a typhoon in [[Hong Kong]] in 2018.<ref name="UNEP" />

A significant amount of plastic waste can be produced during disaster relief operations. Following the [[2010 Haiti earthquake|2010 earthquake in Haiti]], the generation of waste from relief operations was referred to as a "second disaster". The United States military reported that millions of water bottles and [[styrofoam]] food packages were distributed although there was no operational waste management system. Over 700,000 plastic tarpaulins and 100,000 tents were required for emergency shelters. The increase in plastic waste, combined with poor disposal practices, resulted in open drainage channels being blocked, increasing the risk of [[disease]].<ref name="UNEP" />

Conflicts can result in large-scale displacement of communities. People living under these conditions are often provided with minimal waste management facilities. [[Burn pit]]s are widely used to dispose of mixed wastes, including plastics. Air pollution can lead to respiratory and other illnesses. For example, [[Sahrawi refugees]] have been living in five camps near [[Tindouf|Tindouf, Algeria]] for nearly 45 years. As waste collection services are underfunded and there is no recycling facility, plastics have flooded the camps' streets and surroundings. In contrast, the Azraq camp in Jordan for refugees from Syria has waste management services; of 20.7 tonnes of waste produced per day, 15% is recyclable.<ref name="UNEP" />