Since the outbreak of COVID-19 many factories have been shut and businesses closed. Not surprisingly, most people’s commute has been cut down to zero, and the economy has ground to a halt. Though even with this, there has been a silver lining, animals are enjoying a little more freedom, and levels of pollution have dropped in places around the world.
Unfortunately, while one aspect of the environment has been getting cleaner, this pandemic is making things even worse for others, primarily our oceans and other bodies of water. This is all because of the increased demand (and disposal of) single-use masks and gloves. (1)
The Seas are Suffering
Already at least 8 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year, which makes up 80% of marine debris, from surface water all the way down to the deep sea. (2, 3)
These plastics cause a problem for multiple reasons:
- Larger animals, such as turtles, birds, whales, sharks, seals, and others, mistake the brightly colored plastics for food, or they become entangled in them. Either way, this leads to injury and death of marine life. (2, 3)
- Larger plastics degrade into smaller and smaller pieces, eventually turning into microplastics. These plastics are then ingested by marine life of all kinds and not only pose a health risk to the animals but also to humans who eat fish and seafood. (2, 3)
Read: Horrifying Photo of Dead Turtle Killed By Entanglement with Fishing Gear Wins an Ocean Art Award
The largest contributing factor to this is single-use plastics. These are the bottles, toothpaste tubes, and packaging that can’t be recycled and end up in the trash. Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, coastal places such as Hong Kong, Portugal, Miami, and others have experienced an uptick in the number of face masks and plastic gloves washing up on their beaches. (1)
OceansAsia, an organization that works to protect and clean up the many oceans of Asia, recently posted a photo of masks and gloves collected from the beach in Hong Kong, and it is not pretty. (1)
Founder of Plastic Free Seas in Hong Kong Tracy Read has also noticed this additional source of dangerous plastics. (1)
“People think they’re protecting themselves but it’s not just about protecting yourselves, you need to protect everybody and by not throwing away the mask properly, it’s very selfish,” says Read. (1)
Read: Opinion: Why Fearing the Coronavirus Should be the Least of Your Worries
This isn’t just an Asia Problem
Maria Algarra, who is the founder of Clean This Beach Up in Miami, Florida, has seen a massively increased amount of plastic masks and gloves in Miami and on its beaches. They’re floating in the bay, blowing around parking lots, and being washed down into the sewer systems which means, of course, they end up in the sea. (1)
She started a campaign to raise awareness of this problem called #TheGloveChallenge. The idea is that when you see a discarded plastic glove, you take a picture and share it using the hashtag. She says she only encourages people to pick up the gloves if it is safe to do so and they have on protective equipment. (1)
Since launching the campaign, she has been sent 1,200 photos from around the world – New York, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, New Jersey, and New Zealand – with a glove count of more than 1,800. This doesn’t include non-photographed gloves. (1)
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This is a Problem for us All
The discarded gloves and masks don’t just pose a risk to marine life. They are dangerous for land animals that may ingest or become entangled in them, as well as a threat to human health. The person who improperly disposed of those gloves or that mask very well could have been infected with COVID-19 and not known it. (1)
What You Can Do
Obviously, during this time of crisis, we are all trying to protect ourselves and our loved ones. When it comes to wearing masks, save the proper PPE ones for the health care workers who so desperately need them. You will be just fine with washable cloth versions.
When it comes to wearing gloves, again you can opt for washable ones. There is debate on the actual efficacy of whether wearing gloves will keep you safe or not. In an interview with Global News, Chief Medical Officer of Health at Alberta Health Sciences in Canada Dr. Deena Hinshaw warned that though gloves are not necessarily a bad thing, they can give people a false sense of security. (4)
“I would just say if people do choose to use them, they need to be thinking very carefully — in the same way, they would if they didn’t have gloves on — about what they’re touching, making sure to stay away from their face, and making sure to wash hands thoroughly before putting them on and after taking them off.” (4)
It’s also extremely important to dispose of them properly. The virus can live on the gloves for a certain period of time, so discarding them improperly puts sanitation workers and the public at greater risk. (1, 4)
Though it’s important for us to do what is necessary to slow the spread of this terrible disease, we can’t forget about the health of other people, our oceans, and the earth.
Looking to make your own reusable cloth mask? Here are some articles that may help you:
How to Make A Bandana Face Mask, No Sewing Required
How To Make A 5 Minute Face Mask
- https://www.independent.co.uk/news/coronavirus-masks-gloves-oceans-pollution-waste-a9469471.html
- https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/marine-plastics
- https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html
- https://globalnews.ca/news/6787323/coronavirus-do-gloves-help-protect-against-covid-19/
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