Face Mask Disposal Problem

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Single-use face mask and other synthetic face masks are going to be a big waste management hazard.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Just give it a thought how difficult it is to dispose of millions of gloves, PPE kits and face masks being thrown every day.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]And a majority of this COVID waste is not disposable. Our environment is going to be cursed with this pile of COVID waste for the next 450 years.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Masks, gloves, hand sanitizer bottles are already being found in seawater and joining the ocean ecosystems.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]We are already getting disturbing images of photos and videos. We may have more masks in the sea than jellyfish.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]This risk was flagged first when OceanAsia discovered a huge number of masks in plastic pollution research.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The problem was first noticed when a cluster of mask was found on the Soko island in Hong Kong.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In many cities, plastic recycling programs have been paused.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The quarantine economy has locked people in the room and that means more online deliveries resulting in packaging waste. Medical waste in cities has piled up.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The situation is even worse in developing countries like India.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Because of the lack of a mechanism for the collection and disposal of used face masks, single-use plastic masks are piling up on landfill sites.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]They’re simply being dumped in the garbage.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

“In the case of home-care from suspected patients, biomedical waste should be collected separately in yellow bags and handed over to authorized waste collectors engaged by local bodies. ULBs (Urban Local Bodies) should engage CBWTFs to pick-up such waste either directly from quarantined houses or identified collection points,” read the guideline.

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