Disposable masks; Is this the final straw?
Disposable mask littered on the ground. Photo: Madi McKinley
As many Australians brace for the end of lockdown, certain restrictions are set to remain in place for some time. One of these is the continued wearing of face masks. Although face masks have had a valuable contribution to minimise the spread of COVID-19, there is deep concern for the environmental impact they are causing.
“It’s an issue of throwing the baby out with the bathwater – or in other words, sustainability being thrown out with our response to the pandemic,” says Barry Du Bois, television personality and political candidate. “Sustainability, unfortunately, isn’t currently a top value of our society,” he says.
Globally, according to Science Daily, 129 billion face masks are used each month, equating to 3 million a minute. Although disposable face masks are a practical and sometimes preferred choice of face coverings, it is how they are being inappropriately discarded that is also causing havoc.
Disposable face masks are now being seen as the new plastic straw.
“I think majority of Australians would understand the impact of littering for example, but probably less (Australians) would understand how plastics and disposable masks are actually made and provided to us,” says Mr Du Bois.
Disposable masks are made from many materials including polypropylene, a plastic that is estimated to take over 450 years to break down. With recycling a limited option due to contamination and the degrading of materials during the recycling process, further options need to be addressed.
“To manufacture masks locally would be a good first step. Then funding research into alternative sustainable materials, we could be using instead of petrochemicals as a second step,” Mr Du Bois says.
According to the NSW Environmental Protection Authority, NSW residents must use their red council bins to discard of their disposable facemasks. These bins however, are taken directly to landfill. If masks arrive without already being blown away, they are contributing to the three main issues of landfills described by Environment Victoria: toxins, leachate and greenhouse gases.
The distribution of littered masks is therefore from both indirect and direct means.
The littering of disposal masks is further causing distress throughout ecosystems, endangering biodiversity. OceansAsia, an organisation that researches and investigates wildlife crimes, predicted that by the end of 2020, 1.56 billion facemasks would have ended up in the ocean. Digestion of this waste is not only endangering sea life, but a study by the World Wildlife Fund showed that the plastic is passing through the food chain and being consumed by humans.
“Littered face masks become hazards to animals, and especially sea life if they’re washed into waterways, as happens with many other littered items,” says a spokesperson for the NSW Environment Protection Authority.
Temporary solutions will not reduce the increasing dangers disposable masks are causing for sustainability and the environment.
By the end of 2020, approximately one per cent of litter in NSW were face masks. It is assumed it is now expected to increase with the longer restrictions enforced in 2021. However, recent funding by the NSW Government hopes to help eliminate this risk.
“The NSW Government is serious about reducing litter and has invested more than $50 million over nine years towards litter prevention in NSW as part of the Waste Less, Recycle More initiative.,” says a spokesperson for NSW Environment Protection Authority.
The NSW Government has also recently announced an investment of $38 million across five years in the Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy and Plastics Action Plan.
