It is recommended to change a medical face mask every few hours. It is also recommended to disinfect hands regularly and self-tests should be used regularly. These epidemiological solutions to contain the COVID-19 pandemic allowed to regulate the incidence, but at the same time they created countless tons of medical waste. Now the pandemic is gradually starting to recede, restrictions have eased, but the mountains of medical waste will not disappear so quickly. Where do used face masks, testing materials, gloves and other protective clothing end up and how is this waste managed, explain Professor Dagnija Blumberga, Director of the Institute of Energy Systems and Environment of Riga Technical University, and Beate Zlaugotne, a researcher at this institute, a representative of the company "BAO", chemist Guntis Pužulis, and Sandra Eglīte, a representative of the company "Lautus".