Coronavirus face masks an environmental disaster that might last generations

 In many public places around the world, face coverings are now required. Masks, however, were producing litter problems on land and at sea long before they were declared mandatory. 

Despite the fact that millions of people have been urged to wear face masks, there has been no instruction on how to appropriately dispose of or recycle them. Moreover, if countries begin to ease lockdown restrictions, billions of masks will be required each month around the world. An environmental crisis is impending unless improved disposal techniques are implemented.

 

According to recent figures, we use 129 billion face masks per month, or 3 million per minute, on the planet. Disposable microfibre plastic face masks make up the great majority of them.

The present pandemic has resulted in an increase in biological waste creation. This is a severe problem towards both human health and wellbeing of the ecosystem.

The promotion of mask use as a strategy of decreasing COVID-19 spread has resulted in a large increase in disposable mask production: UNCTAD estimates that global disposable mask sales will reach $166 billion for the year, rising from $800 million in 2019.

According to the historical data, around 75% of used masks and other pandemic-related debris will wind up in landfills or floating in the seas.

An Example

A beach clean in Hong Kong in February yielded 70 masks along 100 meters of beachfront, with another 30 surfacing a week later. Masks have been spotted drifting like jellyfish in the Mediterranean.

Aside from the environmental harm, the UN Environment Program (UNEP) estimates that the financial impact in areas likes tourism and fishing will be over $40 billion.

Because of the constant need to sterilize, and also the biologic and pathogenic waste produced by all hospitals and clinics, not only physical pollution but also chemical pollution is diffused.

The most of masks are composed of long-lasting polymeric products that can remain for decades to hundreds of years in the environment if abandoned. As a result, they may have a variety of effects on the environment and people.

Both humans and animals' lives are in peril.

· Initially, garbage handlers, litter cleaners, and ordinary citizens may come across the material may be infected to coronavirus. The virus can survive for up to seven days on a plastic surgical mask under certain conditions. Plastics disintegrate over time into tiny parts, and the longer garbage is in the environment, the faster it decomposes. Plastics break down into microplastics, which break down further into Nano plastics. These microscopic particles and fibers are frequently long-lasting polymers that can build up in food chains.

· A single mask can make millions of particles, each capable of transporting toxins and infections up the food chain and into people.

· Littered places also attract further littering, exacerbating the situation.

What you should do

The World Health Organization estimated in March that 89 million additional disposable masks would be needed in hospital settings throughout the world each month to combat COVID-19. Furthermore, according to a recent working paper published at University College London by the Plastic Waste Innovation Hub, the UK's current domestic demand is 24.7 billion masks a year. However, if only reusable masks are used, the demand for residential face masks in the UK declines considerably to roughly 136 million per year.

However, even with reusable masks, the design and cleaning method you choose makes a difference. The University College London team looked at the production, usage, and dumping of disposable, reusable, and reusable with disposable filters masks to determine their overall environmental impact. Over the course of a year, they determined that washing reusable masks without filters in the washer had the least impact.

Hand washing masks had a greater environmental impact because, unlike machine washing, manual washing consumes more water and detergent per mask. Because the little filters are usually made of plastic, they're similar to disposable masks., and a filter is thrown after each usage, disposable filters have an increased environmental impact.

Surprisingly, the working paper anticipates that hand-washing reusable masks with disposable filters will have the largest overall environmental impact, even surpassing the use of totally disposable masks.

With this in mind, we should take the following precautions to minimize the negative effects of wearing a face mask:

· Reusable masks with no disposable filters should be used. According to the fabric's instructions, they should be machine washed on a regular basis.

· If something goes wrong with the one you're using, try to keep a second on hand so you don't have to use or buy a disposable mask.

· If you must use a disposable mask, take it home (perhaps in a bag if you must remove it) and immediately dispose of it in a bin with a cover. If this isn't possible, dispose of it properly in a public bin. Set up mask-only trash cans for collection and disposal; examine standardization, guidelines, and stringent waste management for mask wastes; replace disposable masks with reusable face masks, such as cotton masks; and investigate developing biodegradable disposal masks.

· It is not recommended to recycle disposable masks. They can become stuck in specialized recycling equipment, posing a biohazard to garbage workers.

· Look for options that may be reused! Make or buy your own face masks and disinfect using reusable cotton wipes to be zero-waste.

· Choosing to be zero-waste by using reusable goods to protect yourself and others during this epidemic will have a beneficial impact on the environment.

· Reusing cotton masks helps to reduce the amount of micro plastics found in disposable masks, which contribute to pollution.

Whatever you do, don't throw trash on them!

There are no rules regarding mask recycling:

Disposable masks are plastic goods that do not biodegrade easily but can fragment into smaller plastic particles, such as micro and Nano plastics, which are common in ecosystems.

Disposable masks are produced on a similar scale to plastic bottles, which are estimated to be 43 billion every month.

However, unlike plastic bottles (which are recycled in about 25% of cases), there is no official guideline on mask recycling, making it more likely to be discarded as solid waste, according to the study.

Plastic bags aren't the only thing to be concerned about:

Disposable masks, like other plastic wastes, can wind up in the environment, freshwater systems, and oceans, where weathering can produce a huge number of micro-sized particles (smaller than 5 mm) within a short period of time (weeks) and fragment into Nano plastics (smaller than 1 micrometer).

"The masks are directly produced from micro sized plastic fibers (thickness of 1 to 10 micrometers), which is a newer and more serious worry. When the mask degrades in the environment, it may release more micro-sized plastics, which are easier and faster to break down than bulk plastics such as plastic bags "The researchers go on to say:

"Nano masks, a younger influx of masks that use Nano-sized plastic fibres (diameter less than 1 millimetre) directly and provide a new source of Nano plastic pollution, can intensify such effects."

The researchers emphasize that they have no idea how masks contribute to the vast quantity of plastic particles found in the environment because no data on mask breakdown in nature has been collected.

"We do know, however, that disposable masks, like other plastic trash, can gather and emit dangerous chemical and biological compounds such as bisphenol A, heavy metals, and infectious microorganisms. These could have unintended negative consequences for plants, animals, and humans "According to Elvis Genbo Xu.

https://worldenvironment11.blogspot.com/2021/05/plastic-in-oceans.html