Nearly 1.6 billion disposable masks polluted oceans in 2020, will take 450 years to decompose
Fifty-two billion masks were produced in 2020, and about 1.6 billion entered earth's oceans, according to a new report.
By Brianna Kraemer
Updated: July 30, 2021 - 5:13pm
Nearly 1.6 billion disposable face masks ended up in the earth's oceans in 2020, out of the roughly 52 billion produced in response to the pandemic, according to a study.
While governments around the world continue to support mask mandates in public spaces, the impact of disposable masks is only just emerging.
The report, by the Hong Kong-based marine conservation group OceansAsia, title "Masks on the Beach," also estimated that roughly 5,500 tons of plastic pollution entered the ocean in 2020 from masks.
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/environment/estimated-16-billion-disposable-masks-polluted-oceans-2020-will-take
