Claiming 3 million masks used globally every minute, researchers warn of environmental catastrophe

[PeteS in CA]

Claiming 3 million masks used globally every minute, researchers warn of environmental catastrophe

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/coronavirus/3-million-masks-used-globally-every-minute-researchers-warn

Researchers are warning that heavy mask usage over the course of the coronavirus pandemic could be contributing to a looming environmental disaster, with millions of masks being used every minute and many of them polluting local ecosystems in the process.

Researchers in the U.S. and Denmark estimated in a study in Frontiers in Environmental Science that "an astounding 129 billion face masks [are] being used globally every month," a number that works out to three million every minute. "Most are disposable face masks made from plastic microfibers," the researchers note.

With mask usage skyrocketing to unprecedented highs over the past year due to beliefs that masks can help stop the spread of COVID-19, the scientists note that "there is no official guidance on mask recycle, making it more likely to be disposed of as solid waste."

1. The picture at the top of the article is, very probably, posed. Note the undisturbed pleating. The mask almost certainly has never been used.

2. Yes, masks are made of "plastic microfibers", as are disposable gowns. The ginormous surge in usage of that material was a significant cause of the shortage of disposable wipes, which are made from the same material.

3. Properly disposed of, the things mainly contribute to landfill usage. Problems come when people dispose of them carelessly/randomly and in countries that have open dumps near rivers such that the used masks (along with other plastics) will get washed into the rivers by rainfall and then washed out to sea. The latter has been happening for years, and the masks will add to the problem (how significantly, ).

[Smokin Joe]

You see them everywhere around here when you are in town. It's the newest biggest component of litter..

[PeteS in CA]

You see them everywhere around here when you are in town. It's the newest biggest component of litter..

"Everywhere" might be an overstatement for me, but I do see them in gutters and blown into random landscape.

[Smokin Joe]

"Everywhere" might be an overstatement for me, but I do see them in gutters and blown into random landscape.

In town here you have gutters, and random landscape, too.

[rangerrebew]

POLLUTION PLAGUE: Coronavirus waste is harming animals around the world, from dogs to penguins

03/31/2021 / By Divina Ramirez

The single-use face masks and disposable latex gloves protecting people from the Wuhan coronavirus are also harming animals, according to a recent report by researchers from Leiden University in the Netherlands.

The report, published in Animal Biology, provides an overview of cases of entanglement and ingestion of face masks, latex gloves and other personal protective equipment (PPE) by terrestrial and aquatic animals.

In particular, the researchers collated dozens of reports of birds and sea creatures ingesting bits of face masks and gloves or even becoming entangled or trapped in such litter. There were even reports of pet animals, such as dogs, swallowing discarded face masks.

https://www.climate.news/2021-03-31-coronavirus-waste-harming-wildlife.html