Pacifica: Disposable masks, gloves and other types of personal protective equipment are protecting countless lives throughout the year coronavirus pandemic. They are also creating a global pollution problem by littering and sending an influx of harmful plastics and other waste to landfills, sewer systems and oceans.
In Northern California, environmental groups are monitoring the issue along the coast – and trying to do something about it.
The Pacific Beach Coalition recently noticed a dramatic increase in discarded PBT on beaches in and around the city of Pacifica, south of San Francisco, where it has been cleaning monthly for nearly 25 years.
Volunteers record what they pick up to determine what could end up in the sea. Until 2020, the rubbish was mostly cigarette butts and food packaging.
“What are we going to do? We got masks. We got gloves. We got all the towels, the sani towels. They’re everywhere. They’re in my neighborhood, in my streets. What can we do?” asks Lynn Adams, the coalition’s president.
The group and others draw attention to the matter, saying that what is recorded is probably only a fraction of the personal protective equipment hitting beaches and oceans.
Larger mammals can ingest PPE, and plastic from the items can disrupt the food chains of the ocean. “They’re all made of plastic,” Adams said.
A report by the law firm OceansAsia last year found that nearly 1.6 billion masks would flood oceans by 2020 alone, based on global production estimates and other factors. OceansAsia said it could take up to 450 years to break down masks.
The Marine Mammal Center, a conservation group that rescues and rehabilitates mammals, conducts research and teaches, said animals can be trapped in disposable PBT, or mistaken for food.
Source: Telangana Today