The very materials protecting us from COVID-19 infection over the last year could ultimately cause long-term harm to public health and the planet. Growing quietly in the background amid the chaos to respond to and contain the virus is the issue of medical waste – and its sheer volume – generated by the pandemic. A year after the virus hit the U.S., more than 390 million COVID-19 tests have been given. That's 390 million swabs, plus their packaging. In the country's more than 6,000 hospitals, healthcare workers have gone through multiple masks, gloves and protective gowns each day. Since mid-December, the U.S. has administered more than 167 million coronavirus vaccine doses, with each individual dose coming with a needle and syringe, and multiple doses coming with vials and packaging.