A plastic pandemic: Why single-use face masks are polluting the global environment
by Victoria SanchezWednesday, May 26th 2021
For nearly a year and a half, surgical masks have been a piece of the arsenal in the fight against COVID-19. While the face coverings keep us safe, researchers and environmentalists fear masks could create a plastic pandemic.
7News Health Reporter Victoria Sanchez began documenting discarded personal protective equipment (PPE) in early 2020. Face masks, rubber gloves, and sanitizing wipes are lightweight and would blow across parking lots, get stuck in trees and end up in storm drains.
Conservation and wildlife activist group OceansAsia is known to collect and document plastic trash around the globe. In February 2020, dozens of masks started washing up on beaches. Just two months later, the organization collected 135 masks in less than an hour on Soko Island in Hong Kong.
https://wjla.com/news/health/plastic-pandemic-single-use-face-masks-polluting-global-environment