Public urged to avoid single-use facemasks over plastic waste fears
● TV presenter Fearnley-whittingstall says homemade versions ‘just as good’
Hugh Fearnley-whittingstall has called for the public to avoid single-use masks and opt for renewable or homemade ones instead.
The celebrity chef and TV presenter warned that the coronavirus pandemic could increase the amount of plastic waste and also discouraged people from using plastic gloves.
Fearnley-whittingstall, who launched the War On Plastic campaignwithanitaranilast year, said it is “no safer” to buy fruit and vegetables wrapped in plastic.
He said: “Obviously everyone’s number one priority right now is to keep themselves and their families safe. But the evidence I’ve seen suggests that using more singleuse plastic in our everyday lives doesn’t help us to do that.
“We definitely don’t need to wear plastic gloves – in fact they give us a false sense of security.
“They can just as easily be contaminated as our hands and so it makes much more sense to simply wash our hands.
“We don’t need to buy those single-use disposable masks which a lot of people don’t realise are actually made of plastic – we can buy reusable washable masks – or make our own, which are just as good and don’t contaminate the environment.
“It’s no safer to buy fruit and veg wrapped in plastic either. We just need to wash it well when we get it home.”
Experts have previously warned that single use personal protective equipment (PPE) is significantly adding to the plastic pollution crisis.
An estimated 194 billion disposable masks and gloves are being used worldwide every month as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.
Most single-use PPE is made from a variety of plastics, including polypropylene, polyethylene and vinyl.
The River Cottage host said he was optimistic about the changes that could emerge from the pandemic.
He said: “The coronavirus pandemic means that we are all living in a very different world to the one we were in when we started making the programme.
“So much has changed, there are new unexpected challenges and it’s become a tragic time for far too many people.
“But I am hopeful that, as we are all forced to re-evaluate our lifestyles, people might decide that they don’t want to just go back to the old and wasteful ways of doing things.
“Perhaps I’m being too optimistic but wouldn’t it be great if programmes like these got people to think differently about how we live in the future?”
One year on from launching the War On Plastic campaign, Fearnley-whittingstall and Rani will look at how much has changed in a follow-up episode, titled The Fight Goes On.
They will take on the companies that make tea bags and sandwiches, challenge fastfood outlets over their plastic toy giveaways.