Unmasking Covid-19’s environmental impact
Why plastic pollution may be the next global pandemic.
The Covid-19 pandemic notably induced uncertainty for every human, business, and economy of each and every country.
The use of personal protective equipment (PPE), social distancing measures, travel restrictions and lockdowns were just some of the measures employed worldwide to lessen the spread of coronavirus. Thus, a situation was created where mask wearing became the ‘new normal’ for all human life.
The wearing of PPE was immediate – and universal. There were many variations of PPE, including plastic face shields, gloves, and masks. The three main variants of masks that people chose to wear were N95 medical coverings, cloth and disposable masks, often blue in colour.
The word ‘disposable’ infers that these masks are designed to be used, and thrown away – but the latter point is one which gives rise to many environmental concerns. We were told why we needed to wear masks but not how to dispose of them.
According to the World Health Organisation estimates, an average of 89 million medical masks were needed to respond to Covid-19 each month worldwide (WHO, 2020). Disposable masks are typically made of polypropylene, or other thermoplastic polymers, an aluminium band, and elastic or rubber ear loops.
Each disposable mask is equal to 59g CO2-equivalent (eq), including transportation. The production and distribution of these disposable masks, in such large quantities, directly attributes to global warming as the level of CO2 produced is detrimentally high.
For example, in 2020 Germany required 17 million masks per month – which equals 850 tons of CO2-eq being emitted each month.
To put these numbers into perspective, 850 tons of CO2-eq is about equal to 370,000 steaks, with beef farming being a huge contributor to climate change.
850 tons of CO2-eq is about equal to 370,000 steaks, with beef farming being a huge contributor to climate change.
This is significant as a large majority of these masks were of use by the public, as opposed. to medical professionals, whose PPE was collected carefully and deemed hazardous – and therefore, not disposed of efficiently and safely, thus, creating a new environmental challenge.
When the masks are disposed of incorrectly, they often end up in landfill, soil, water and/or littered throughout streets. This leads to micro-plastics entering water bodies, damaging marine life though the ingestion of toxins, further entering their food chains, and in turn, often entering the human food chain.
Masks are also responsible for killing many seabirds and other marine wildlife, such as turtles and crustaceans, through strangulation, entanglement, and ingestion.
The environmental damage caused by our careless littering of masks will be present for over 100 years in our water bodies and soil.
A further implication of haphazardly discarded face masks in the environment is the possibility of acting as a medium for disease outbreak, as micro-plastic particles are known to cultivate microbes such as invasive pathogens (Reid et al., 2019)
Dr. Keiron Roberts, Lecturer in Sustainability and the Built Environment at the University of Portsmouth et al, conducted research in December 2021 into the environmental impact of littered masks, and their findings show that “face mask litter increased by nearly 9,000 per cent from March 2020 to October 2020”(Roberts, K., 2021).
The social impact of littered face masks is here to stay, with expensive beach clean-up activities becoming routine all over the world, and tourism experiencing a significant loss to many of these areas due to the unsightliness.
“Despite millions of people being told to use face masks, little guidance was given on how to dispose of them or recycle them safely. Without better disposal practices, an environmental disaster is looming”
– Prof Steve Fletcher, Director of Revolution Plastics at the University of Portsmouth
Biodegradable masks are one modern sustainable solution to reduce the plastic waste, but one may argue that the damage has already been done. These are currently being made using compostable materials, such as hemp, bamboo, corn & flax.
One example of modern biodegradable face coverings is produced by Henosis Masks, a UK based company who claim their masks to be made of ‘cellulosic and cellulose-based man-made fibres’, and biodegrade at least 90% within 12 weeks.
These masks are the future of sustainable PPE if we are to ever tackle a pandemic of the same scale again.
Moreover, applying critical thinking, and funding, into research to provide eco-friendly alternatives while enhancing effective waste management systems could potentially assist in finding a sustainable solution to plastic pollution all over the globe.
Who knows what could happen next? Plastic pollution may be the next global pandemic.
Feature image provided by Unsplash user Tanguy Sauvin.