How Do Single-Use COVID-19 Face-masks Affect The Environment?
Chukwunomnso Okeke*
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 completely changed the world as we know it. The rapid global spread of the virus, combined with the rising number of deaths, necessitated that world governments implement nationwide lockdowns to contain the pandemic. A major consequence of the restrictions was the appreciable drop in global carbon emissions due to the steep reductions in transport and the activities of the manufacturing industry. This led to an appreciable improvement in air quality and visibility.
However, the pandemic also inflicted some damage on the environment. One of the biggest culprits has been the sharp increase in plastic pollution, of which the explosion in the production and use of disposable face masks — which are made of different types of plastic polymers — is a significant contributor.
Due to the official medical guidelines — specifically that disposable masks should not be reused, and that they should be safely discarded — the demand for and consumption of facemasks has increased astronomically as a core mitigating factor to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The Numbers
Here are some staggering figures on the production and use of disposable face masks over the past year:
- In March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) projected that, globally, an additional 89 million disposable masks were needed each month in medical settings to combat COVID-19.
- Greenpeace Taiwan estimates that, during a 14-week period in 2020, Taiwan used approximately 1.3 billion surgical masks.
- The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) estimated that if the global population uses one disposable face mask per day, we will dispose of 129 billion face masks each month.
- It was estimated last year that 1.6 billion disposable face masks were discarded in the UK every month. This translates to roughly 55 million a day or 19.2 billion annually.
- As at May 2020, The Kingdom of Morocco was producing 7 million masks daily.
The Problem
Due to the risk of infecting workers, the recycling potential for disposable facemasks is limited, though not impossible. Consequently, the vast majority share the same fate as billions of tonnes of other plastic waste — they are littered in public spaces, sent to landfills, and even end up in the oceans. This data is corroborated by United Nations research which estimates that around 75% of used masks and other pandemic-related plastic waste will end up in landfills or will be found floating in the seas.
Concerns about the effect of these masks on aquatic environments have been voiced by conservationists, who have warned that the COVID-19 pandemic could spark a surge in ocean pollution after finding single-use masks “floating like jellyfish” underwater. This will only exacerbate an issue that is already severely affecting marine life and the delicate balance of marine ecosystems. According to a research report released in 2020 by OceanAsia — a Hong Kong based marine conservation organisation — it is estimated that up to 1.56 billion face masks (single-use and reusable) entered into the marine ecosystems in 2020.
Divers from Opération Mer Propre — a French non-profit organisation — found dozens of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, masks and even bottles of hand sanitiser — fittingly termed “COVID waste” strewn across the Mediterranean Sea. This poses obvious dangers to sea creatures, as they can mistake them for food. Consequently, many will likely die from eating them, which is alarming considering the current estimates showing that over 100,000 marine mammals and turtles, as well as over a million seabirds, are killed by marine plastic annually.
This paints a grim picture for the state of marine ecosystems, with the future looking even bleaker when one considers the additional damage that the influx of COVID waste will inflict on our oceans.
The Solutions
The easiest and cheapest solution to this issue is the widespread adoption of reusable cloth masks. According to the Plastic Waste Innovation Hub at University College London (UCL) the current demand for masks in the UK is 24.7 billion masks annually, but this total plummets to around 136 million per year when only reusable masks are used. This will drastically reduce the number of plastic masks that are littered and eventually pollute our aquatic and land habitats. Thus, a widespread transition from single-use masks to reusable masks will be safer and better for the planet.
These masks will provide comparable protection to that offered by disposable masks insofar as the recommended guidelines are followed. It is also recommended that spare reusable masks be carried as alternate mouth and nose coverings, to prevent the purchase of disposable masks in the event that the mask in use becomes damaged or soiled, and therefore unfit for further use.
Additionally, it is important to ensure that used or damaged masks are properly discarded in public bins with coverings or taken home and correctly disposed of. This will reduce littering as well as the number of masks that are swept by the elements into water bodies.
Another solution that involves the use of alternative resources is the production of masks from biodegradable materials. This strategy is being employed in the Philippines where abaca — a fibre from a species of banana that is native to the country — is being tested as a substitute material to produce facemasks. Abaca has shown a much higher degree of water resistance compared to other masks, and will also decompose within 2 months unlike the commercial masks that take far longer to degrade.
A solution that is currently in the research and development phase is the upcycling of used facemasks. For example, a study conducted by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Australia showed that disposable masks can be upcycled and used as raw materials in road construction. The research, which was carried out by adding shredded face masks (SFM) to the mix of materials used in road construction, showed that the SFM would increase the durability, flexibility and strength of roads and pavements. It was also discovered that using the SFM to make just 1km of a two-lane road would consume 93 tonnes of SFM, thereby diverting 3 million masks from going to landfill. This strategy of upcycling used protective masks into building materials has been adopted by Mr Binish Densai, a 27-year-old environmental activist from Western India, who is converting these masks into construction bricks. Similarly, TerraCycle — an American recycling company — collects facemasks from strategically placed collection boxes and converts them into a myriad of items such as furniture, bins and plastic shipping pallets.
Conclusion
The environmental hazard caused by the improper disposal of single-use facemasks highlights the challenges of navigating the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of environmental sustainability. It emphasises that the emergence of the pandemic did not lessen the urgency of environmental protection but heightened it. It is crucial to remain cognisant of this fact because we run the risk of focusing on the present danger at the expense of the long-term challenges arising from environmental degradation. Through our work in research, advocacy, training and enterprise development (among others), Clean Technology Hub aims to facilitate a widespread understanding of the significant, large-scale and long-term environmental damage caused by PPE pollution. We recognise that the majority of the damage caused by PPE and other plastics occurs out of sight and on a timescale far exceeding the human lifespan, so it is critical that the general public is enlightened on the severity of the issue and how they can contribute to solving it today.
It is encouraging to see that several actors around the world are currently working on the development and deployment of innovative solutions to address this issue. The need to solve this challenge as quickly as possible cannot be overstated, especially when one considers the plethora of environmental challenges our world is already facing. We hope that this article not only raises awareness among the general public, but also incites people to take action by adopting eco-friendly measures against the spread of COVID-19.
Chukwunomnso Okeke* is an Associate in the Environment and Climate Change Department at Clean Technology Hub
