I happened to be walking back home from my daily stroll and much to my disgust amongst a pile of litter was two face masks discarded on the footpath. What struck me was not only the potential health risk of used masks being discarded like this during the pandemic but the whole range of environmental issues created by people littering these items as well as the long term impact their increased use is likely to have.
The demand for face masks from the public has been escalating as a result of UK governments recommending their use. Also, the change in policy by the World Health Organization advising that people should use face masks in places where social distancing isn’t possible will undoubtedly result in a massive increase in their number. Saikiran Kannan in his article ‘How Covid-19 renews the world’s plastic problem’ cited a report by the World Wide Fund for Nature which ‘estimated a need of 1 billion masks in Italy for the month of May soon after the lifting of its lockdown phase’. It went on to say that ‘If even only 1 per cent of masks were discarded incorrectly’ and ended up as litter it would result in ‘10 million masks per month dispersed in the environment.’
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-WiscoDave
