Face Mask Pollution
Over two years into the pandemic, we are all too familiar with face masks. While their purpose was to protect humans from Covid-19, nobody seemed to consider the awful side effect of the face mask pollution. I started to notice them everywhere just discarded on the ground. Taking pictures of them became a weird hobby for me. I even had friends and my husband joining in and since October (just 3 and a half months ago) have collected over 100 pictures! In the gallery below, I’m sharing some of my favorites.
Some facts about face masks
According to Bloomberg Business, “global production of face masks has rocketed to 129 billion a month from just an estimated 8 billion in all of 2019”. They go on to say that most of them are made from plastic fibers which could take hundreds of years to disintegrate! What does that mean for the oceans and rivers? According to the marine nonprofit, OceansAsia, at least 1.6 billion face masks ended up in the seas in 2020. Those are scary numbers, especially with many face mask mandates still very much in place.
What's being done?
Dozens of manufacturers are working on biodegradable masks. “Some are made from new plastics said to self-destruct in a few months. Others use a plastic substitute made from corn starch, sugar cane, and other sugars. And a few are even embedded with seeds that germinate into meadow flowers.” Bottom line is that biodegradable face masks will cost more to manufacture. That cost will be passed onto the customer. It will be hard to compete against the cheaper masks and do they even offer the same protection?
Be responsible
We have had to adjust to so many changes since this pandemic has altered our world. Wearing a face mask has been a tough one for me. But with the information out there about face masks helping to control the spread of Covid-19, I’m guessing they aren’t going away any time soon. So in the meantime, it’s our responsibility to try to tackle this growing problem of face mask pollution.