Disposing of face masks: The next environmental problem?
UNICEF’s Youth Advocate Sonika Poudel on the urgent need to adopt proper disposal practices for used face masks given their increased use during the pandemic
Do you wear a mask? What do you do with your mask after its use? Have you ever thought of the hazard caused by the thrown mask?
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus affecting different people in different ways. We have been fighting the pandemic since 2019. One of the key preventive measures against COVID-19 is covering the nose and mouth with a mask. In fact, wearing masks is now one of the legal requirements in many public spaces around the world. But the disposal of these masks is threatening to be a huge problem for the environment.
The world itself has been battling climate change for decades. People have come to understand the trouble caused by plastic to the planet and with the aim of promoting zero plastic use, many legal restrictions and programs have been started. But the COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new challenge to these efforts. Many of the masks that we use in our daily lives today to protect us from the coronavirus are manufactured from long-lasting plastic materials.
This kind of plastic, if not discarded properly, might persist in the environment for up to 450 years and cause a huge problem to us, the environment and our future generations.
In addition, research and findings have shown that the virus has the potential to survive in plastic surgical masks for almost seven days. Haphazardly thrown masks consequently can be a huge medium for virus transmission. Some animals are also unable to differentiate between trash and food and end up ingesting the masks. These innocent animals could choke on them and die. Smaller animals may be entangled in the elastic within the mask. The plastic itself can break down into small particle-like nano and microplastics, and accumulate in the food chain – thereby threatening the entire ecosystem.
While we need to protect ourselves against the pandemic, we need to do it in a way that doesn’t initiate any harm to our terrestrial and aquatic environments, and the future of our own kind. For this, we need to adopt safe mask-handling and disposal techniques. The first and most important method is to opt for reusable masks. A disposable face mask can be replaced by a reusable cotton mask. This kind of mask needs to be washed regularly following proper guidance for the fabric it is made of.
We must also make sure that whenever we dispose of a mask that we have used, we do so in proper trash cans. Before doing this, we need to remember to break the ear loops, which will prevent animals from becoming entangled in them and dying.
Protecting ourselves shouldn’t mean we harm the lives of others around us.
Notwithstanding the wide evidence of impact to the environment due to improper disposal of masks, the proper method is still disregarded. Only little guidance has been followed for its safe disposal.
The use of a mask is very much necessary in the present context, but it’s high time for all stakeholders, including the government, to address its safe disposal. If the use of masks can be made mandatory – why not make safe disposal mandatory as well? And this starts with the individual; all of us need to initiate the habit of safe mask-handling ourselves and encourage others to do the same. This will ensure that we do not contribute to the problem of plastic waste and its harmful impacts on health and environment.
Sonika is one of UNICEF Nepal’s Youth Advocates. She has been actively engaged in community-based activities – particularly those focused on climate action – from the age of 12.
