How the pandemic has created an eco crisis
Despite predictions that the pandemic might lead to a green revolution, it seems single-use PPE is only adding to the threat to the environment. Closer investigates…
❛ WE PICK UP MASKS AND GLOVES EVERY TIME WE GO TO THE BEACH ❜
Every weekend, Emily Stevenson heads out from her home in Cornwall to help clear beaches of litter. But since the outbreak of COVID-19, Emily and her army of volunteers have seen a shocking increase in plastic aprons, disposal masks, and latex gloves washing up on the shores.
CONTAMINATED
Emily, 23, a marine biologist, says, “Before the pandemic, finding PPE [personal protective equipment] waste was unheard of – but since March, it’s spiked by 96 per cent on our clear-ups.
“In the past couple of years, we saw a real shift in people’s attitudes towards plastic use. Everyone carried a reusable coffee cup and a bag for life.
“But now, lots of us are using single-use PPE without realising the damage it’ll do to the planet.”
While many people don’t actively drop litter in the sea,
PPE can easily blow out of open public waste bins, as it is so lightweight. It is then picked up by the wind, dropped into water channels, and eventually reaches our oceans. And it’s not just UK beaches that are suffering. The shores of the uninhabited
Soko Islands, near Hong Kong, are now brimming with plastic PPE waste, and shocking photos have been released which show surgical masks and gloves floating along the seabed of the French Riviera.
The UK government currently advises wearing a face covering – reusable or disposable – in enclosed areas where social distancing isn’t possible, such as supermarkets, and they’re compulsory on public transport. But many single-use masks have plastic fibres woven in and disposable gloves are made from transparent, light plastic.
More than a billion units of non-biodegradable masks and other PPE have been produced since the beginning of lockdown in the UK alone.
But experts suggest that if everyone in the UK wears a single-use face mask every day for a year, we’ll create an additional 57,000 tonnes of plastic packaging – not including the mask itself – in oceans that are already severely contaminated with plastic waste.
Mark Spalding, president of
The Ocean Foundation, tells Closer, “The pandemic has dramatically increased the influx of single-use plastics, particularly PPE, which get thrown away after just a few minutes of wear.
“Plastic harms the planet, because it’s non-biodegradable and rarely recyclable – it just breaks into smaller pieces until it becomes tiny micro-plastics.”
TOXINS
Tragically, thanks to plastic pollution contaminating seas across the world, over a million animals die annually and around 700 marine species – including sea turtles and seals – are now in danger of extinction.
Mark explains, “In the sea, whales become entangled in floating plastic, while fish take in micro-plastics through their gills and seabirds feed their chicks plastic, clogging their digestive systems.
“In turn, plastic enters the food chain, introducing toxins into human diets.”
And Mark says that COVID-19 has created a disconnect with the dangers of plastic. Some stores have banned reusable ‘keep cups’ and supermarkets in America are only offering plastic bags. And the lifting of lockdown restrictions has seen beaches, and beauty spots strewn with food packaging.
Mark says, “People are understandably fearful of COVID-19, but this means they’re not recognising that single-use plastic PPE still harms the environment. Instead of using disposable PPE, the public can stay safe by wearing reusable fabric face masks and washing their hands regularly. We should reserve single-use plastic PPE for key workers and medical staff who need it and who can dispose of it safely in dedicated bins.”
Emily first started clearing beaches of litter when she was just ten years old.
She says, “I live near a ten-mile stretch of beach, where over the last decade I’ve witnessed a huge increase in plastic waste washing up on our shores. So, in 2018, my dad and I set up a litter-picking initiative, called Beach Guardian. We gathered volunteers and started clearing the beaches of waste.”
DIRE SITUATION
Emily has helped to gather over 6,500 volunteers for 100 beach clear-ups, and has also visited more than 70 primary schools around the UK, educating children on the dangers of plastic pollution. She’s even won a Diana Award for her conservation efforts.
She says, “In February, when advisors provided us with hazardous waste kits to collect PPE, we thought it was a bit over the top – we’d never come across masks or gloves before.
“But it wasn’t long before we were picking up PPE waste every time we went out – we use litter pickers so we never actually touch it. The plastic situation was already dire, but it’s only getting worse with discarded PPE.
“We’ve even discovered fox poo containing disposable plastic gloves, meaning the fox would have digested the carcinogenic substances contained by plastic, which can cause inflammation and risks to fertility.
“The majority of discarded
PPE will circulate the ocean for decades, breaking down into miniscule microplastics.
“It’s worrying, because we already had a crisis on our hands, and now we’re dealing with this too.
“As little as two years ago, I’d never seen microplastics, but now it’s so bad that some days the beach is hidden beneath a blanket of ‘snow’ – tiny pieces of plastic.
“In January, myself and two volunteers collected what we estimated to be 50 million microplastics in just six hours.
“And with news of Bournemouth beach flooded with plastic litter, we’re worried that our coastline will be next.”
Luckily, there are steps we can take to reduce our waste amid the pandemic. The first compostable visor – made from paper board and wood pulp – has been unveiled, and brands are creating reusable face masks. One such brand is OmniProtect, which makes washable masks. CEO Gemma Smith tells us, “Our research shows that if one million people use one OmniProtect mask 210 times, we can save 36,000 tonnes of waste.
“Sustainable products work for the consumer in the present, and for our planet in the future.”