By: Louisa Reitzel
Masks have become a large part of our daily lives within the past few years because of the covid pandemic that has yet to see an end in sight. Masks were at first hard to find but you can now find disposable masks at just about any store and if you look around you can find masks lying on the ground as well. Disposable masks are made from personal protective equipment (PPE) such as polymers and microplastics that have long lasting effects on the environment. The world has a large issue as is with pollution and waste build up and the pandemic has created an even bigger factor with mask waste. It has been noted in a 2020 survey only 1% of masks per month wasted totals to 10 million masks and almost every single one is not properly disposed of. (Du et al., 2022) This is an issue that needs to be addressed because we only use disposable masks once and throw them out when you can easily re-wear them. There are some organizations that have mask recycling opportunities to provide a proper way to dispose of masks to reduce waste. Buying paper masks, wearing them and sending them back to the place of purchase (with participating organizations of course) to then recycle them properly is a large help for the environment.
Reusing masks is not the only option we have for reducing mask waste, the push for reusable masks is taking way. Reusable masks come in a variety of styles, are thicker than paper masks and can be washed in your weekly load of laundry. Simply washing your masks is more sustainable than using a paper mask the local store hands you at the door to then simply throw it out when you leave. Reusable masks can also be made yourself instead of store bought to help reuse older clothing items that you have lying around.
As mentioned above PPE is a type of pollution that seems to be on the rise because of the mask waste. Studies have been reported to have linked the increase of PPE pollution caused by these masks to a loss of biodiversity, water pollution, chemical pollution, and physical pollution (this means the physical object lying on the ground). When these masks are broken down the microplastics and chemicals used to make them start to be released into the air and water (depending on where they have ended up) and hurt the biodiversity of plant and animal life. (Hartanto & Mayasari, 2021) The effects of mask waste also affect humans just like they harm the environment. Mask waste has led to a buildup of sewage backup in larger cities, and has effects on agricultural soil. When the masks littered on the ground are left there to decompose, the chemicals are absorbed into the soil and have shown a negative effect on crop output. (Du et al., 2022) Masks can also end up in our water supply which harms the water we drink leading to further health issues we can have. (Aragaw et al., 2022)
We have a lot of unaddressed issues with using disposable masks that can easily be solved if we use reusable face masks. This may be difficult to achieve at home especially if people forget a mask at home when going out, but if you leave some reusable ones in the car at all times, it is almost impossible to forget them. (A note to readers is that all masks were picked up after images were taken.)
Aragaw, T. A., De-la-Torre, G. E., & Teshager, A. A. (2022). Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) pollution driven by the COVID-19 pandemic along the shoreline of Lake Tana, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Science of The Total Environment, 820, 153261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153261
Du, H., Huang, S., & Wang, J. (2022). Environmental risks of polymer materials from disposable face masks linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Science of The Total Environment, 815, 152980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.152980
Hartanto, B. W., & Mayasari, D. S. (2021). Environmentally friendly non-medical Mask: An attempt to reduce the environmental impact from used masks during COVID 19 pandemic. Science of The Total Environment, 760, 144143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144143
Credits:
Louisa Reitzel