Plastic pollution was already ubiquitous before the CCP virus pandemic arrived, but the past two years have seen a steep rise in the mountain of plastic waste, as the use of disposable masks, gloves, and food packaging soars.
New research estimates that in every minute, three million face masks are put into the environment, or 129 billion a month.
Most of them are made from soft plastics which cannot be recycled, as scientists say they release toxic chemical pollutants and microplastics into the environment—and take up to 450 years to break down.
Less than four percent of soft plastics are recycled in Australia, despite it being the most lethal consumer plastic for ocean wildlife.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s February report, approximately 87,000 tons of personal protective equipment was ordered between March 2020 and November 2021 and shipped to countries, the majority of which ended up as waste.
This only takes into account COVID-19 commodities procured through a joint U.N. emergency initiative and not the waste generated by the public or via other initiatives.
Supporters wearing protective masks during the Third Test match in the series between Australia and India in Sydney, Australia on Jan. 07, 2021. Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Australians Urged to Count Masks to Gauge the Impact of the Plastic Pandemic
As the environment feels the effects of a COVID-19 hangover, Australia’s largest community-based environmental event, Clean Up Australia Day, will be launching a citizen science project on March 6 to measure the extent of the country’s face mask problem.
The project involves tallying the number of face masks thrown out—enabling the organisation to identify numbers, trends and impact of the types of plastic waste surging throughout Australia. Pip Kiernan, Chair of Clean Up Australia, says there currently are no statistical studies about this issue.
The environment is still experiencing the impact of the pandemic. Clean Up Australia
“Our environmental issues haven’t gone away because of COVID. In fact, they’ve escalated because of the mountain of rubbish that’s been created,” Kiernan said.
“Disposable masks don’t belong in the environment and we are calling on volunteers to rally together and help us remove and count them on Clean Up Australia Day.”
Plastic Alternative Made From Food Waste
Freshly baked loaves of bread and pastries in Sydney, Australia during the coronavirus pandemic on Aug. 3, 2020. Rick Everett via AP
Along with mask litter, discarded plastic packaging has also increased as few foods are now sold unpackaged or displayed at the counter without being individually packed.
To tackle this, a senior lecturer of Monash University Thoo Yin Yin and her team are working on an innovative alternative to petroleum-based plastic food packaging.
Instead of using single-use plastic, they are investigating the feasibility of creating a barrier film—called biopolymer film—using food waste.
“It provides a non-toxic alternative to single-use plastic food packaging and can be used in packaging fruits, dried food, oil and more. Its high biodegradability allows for simple disposal,” Yin said about the project which is expected to reach the market in two years.
Jessie Zhang
Author
Jessie Zhang is a reporter based in Sydney, Australia, covering news on health and science.
