Warning as 1,600 tonnes of disposable face masks expected at landfill sites

MORE than 1,600 tonnes of singleuse face coverings could spend “hundreds of years” in Scotland’s landfill sites if habits do not change in the next four months, it has been warned.

Environmental campaigners have come together to condemn research from national recycling company Tradewaste, which revealed that 20,000 tonnes of single-use face masks will end up in landfill by March across the UK, with 1,620 of these being dumped north of the Border.

The research has led to claims that the laws on disposable masks need changing to prevent an environmental disaster.

“A total of 6.3 billion face masks is the amount the UK will throw in the bin in just four months. If the rules on mask-wearing continue throughout 2021, this could top

19.2 billion,” said Charlotte Green from Tradewaste. “The numbers are absolutely mind-blowing.”

In Scotland, it has been mandatory to wear face coverings in retail, hospitality and public transport since October, except in the case of a medical exemption.

However, with many opting to use single-use face coverings, it has led to fears in Scotland that hundreds of thousands could end up wasting away on our land for hundreds of years.

“We know how many people throw these away. There’s been loads found in oceans across Scotland’s. These things are working their way through the system,” Jonathan Ratcliffe of Tradewaste explained. “When we think about mask use, we’re probably going to be using them for another year or so, and this problem is only going to get worse and worse.

“As more people come out and about as restrictions are lifted, the usage goes up.

“Dependent on the lockdown rules over Christmas, if everyone is suddenly back out and about, what we urgently need to do is sort out our usage.”

With disposable face coverings weighing approximately 3.5g each, data was curated from Tradewaste by predicting how many face masks would be thrown away in the next four months.

Glasgow is expected to see the highest number being sent to landfill, with a 176 tonnes predicted to be heading to dumps by March.

Edinburgh is not too far behind, with a predicted 146 tonnes being dumped. Inverness could see 24 tonnes, and Dundee 44.

According to Tradewaste, the main problem with disposable face masks is that, currently, as they are formed from heated and pressed plastics, they cannot easily be recycled.

“Single-use disposable masks have become a symbol of global plastic pollution,” said Sarah

Moyes, circular economy and plastics campaigner at Friends of Earth Scotland. “Not only are these plastic masks littering our streets and beaches, but they will spend hundreds of years sitting in landfill sites across Scotland before they even begin to break down.”