Drive against unsafe disposal of masks
MUSCAT: The Oman Environmental Services Holding Company, be’ah has launched an awareness campaign with the aim to highlight the health risks of random throwing of used masks in public places that negatively affect human as well as wild and marine life.
The drive has been launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and The World Health Organization office in the Sultanate.
Dr Jan Jabbour, the Representative of the World Health Organization in the Sultanate, explained the importance of adhering to the preventive measures and procedures and following the instructions and guidelines established for protection from Covid-19. In this context, the organisation has developed a global and comprehensive guidance document on the use of masks and the best practices to dispose them in a safe manner.
Jassim al Wahaibi , Head of the Healthcare Waste Department at be’ah, said “There is an increasing concern about polluted singleuse masks, which pose a threat to public health and negatively affect wild and marine life when disposed in the wrong way, and we are happy with this cooperation to tackle this global phenomenon, which could lead to the transmission of infection among the community.
The Supreme Committee in charge of examining the mechanism for dealing with developments resulting from the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19) had previously issued decisions, obligating everyone to wear masks in public places and considers not wearing a mask a violation. This has greatly increased the daily consumption of masks.
Single-use contaminated masks contain many viruses, and cleaning workers are among the first victims who face the risk of infection, in addition to their environmental effects.
“Most single-use masks are made of plastic materials such as polypropylene, polyethylene and vinyl — a material that takes up to 450 years to degrade — which makes it all the time a source of micro plastics and negatively affects wild and marine life and ecosystems, according to a report released by Oceansasia.