ECO DISASTER OF MASKS
Billions of single-use face coverings will end up in landfill if we don’t reuse
BILLIONS of face masks could end up in landfill if people don’t stop using single-use coverings, experts have warned.
Scientists estimate that more than 124,000 tons of unrecyclable masks – the equivalent weight of 10,000 double-decker buses – could be dumped each year in just one country, the UK, unless a greener alternative is found.
There have already been reports of sea birds becoming tangled in the elastic cords that wrap around the ears. The single-use masks are also washing up on beaches or being dumped in the streets after becoming mandatory in certain enclosed spaces.
‘This stuff is toxic and will end up in the food
Martin Dorey, founder of the 2 Minute Beach Clean project – operated in Ireland as part of An Taisce’s Clean Coasts programme and supported by the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government – said: ‘We’ve noticed so much of it. We’re trying to recommend to everybody that they use reusable and washable masks because these things are plastic and they won’t bio-degrade.
‘People are also less likely to pick them up because of the perceived risk, so it’s getting left. This stuff is toxic – it will kill ocean life and end up in the food chain.’
Single-use surgical masks are commonly made of polypropylene, a type of thermoplastic. Scientists at University College London calculated that if every person in the UK used one disposable surgical mask each day for a year, it would create 124,000 tons of waste. The academics have suggested that there should be disposal units for the masks on streets and recommended public messaging campaigns to get people to opt for reusable coverings.
As well as the dangers from discarded masks, anti-plastics campaigners warn that 99% of alcohol gels are likely to contain microplastics or similar ingredients that harm the planet.
Environmentalist Emily Stevenson, who runs Cornish community beach clean-ups for the community interest company Beach Guardian, said: ‘As soon as lockdown restrictions were lifted, we saw a sharp increase in litter.’