LITTER CAUSED BY FACE MASKS WITNESSES 9000% RISE, SAYS STUDY

Tue 21 December 2021:

First it was plastic, and now it’s a face mask. What they have in common is that they have both become a source of concern as a result of excessive litter.

Face mask pollution is the next big thing, according to research data collected from 11 countries.

According to the study, the amount of litter caused by face masks has increased by 9,000 percent.

The cause is the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as well as mask mandates enacted by numerous governments around the world. The new type of pollution appears to have increased “exponential increase,” according to the researchers.

A team of researchers from the University of Portsmouth conducted the research. It was published in the journal ‘Nature Sustainability.’

The group conducted a thorough investigation into personal protective equipment (PPE).

The study, published in the journal Nature Sustainability, was based on findings from March to October 2020 using the Covid-19 Government Response Tracker database and a litter collection app called Litterati in 11 countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Belgium, Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Professor Fletcher added: “The majority of masks are manufactured from long-lasting plastic materials, and if discarded can persist in the environment for hundreds of years. This means they can have a number of impacts on the environment and people.”

Dr Keiron Roberts, lead researcher, University of Portsmouth said, “Overall, the study shows the impact that legislating the use of items, such as masks can have on their occurrence as litter. We found that littered masks had an exponential increase from March 2020, resulting in an 84-fold increase by October 2020.”

The nearly 9,000% hike in PPE litter indicates the enforcement of face mask-wearing “must be accompanied with education campaigns to limit their release into the environment,” Roberts added.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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