53m discarded Covid face masks in UK 'could be polluting the sea'
The public are throwing away 53m masks each day in the UK in a waste mountain that risks creating a major environmental crisis, a waste company has said.
The huge number of face masks being put into the bin or dropped on the street is raising concerns about the amount which might be leaking into rivers and the sea, said Charlotte Green, from waste company TradeWaste.co.uk.
“If you walk around any street now you will see disposable face masks being blown around with leaves in the gutter – they are the new cigarette butt – people are chucking them after use,” she said.
“We know that 53m are being sent to landfill each day – but just how many end up elsewhere is the very scary part.”
She said masks were being found in streams, rivers, and oceans – similar to single-use plastic bottles.
TradeWaste.co.uk asked 4,500 members of the public about their use of face masks in November. Their report comes as the latest beach clean by the Marine Conservation Society said discarded masks and other items of personal protective equipment were found on nearly a third of beaches surveyed this autumn.
Disposable face masks are typically made from plastic in three layers:
Non-woven plastic fabric outer
Melt-blown polymer filter such as polypropylene
Non-woven plastic fabric inner
Other – cotton ear loops and metal nose piece
Green said disposable masks contained ear loops and metal pieces used to grip the nose which were often intact when the masks were discarded, raising fears that they could become entangled around animals and wildlife, especially when they end up in water courses.
The survey of 4,500 members of the UK public by the waste company found;
58.8m face masks are being used daily in the UK
10% are reused, 90% are discarded
53.3m face masks are sent to landfill each day
Globally 129bn face masks are being used per month
“We as a country need better disposal methods to cope with the huge numbers of disposable masks being thrown away - most cannot be recycled. If restrictions and mask use continue then this issue is going to get progressively worse – action needs to be taken today,” said Green.