Local marine conservation organisation Azraq has launched an initiative taking aim at the billions of single use disposable face masks used monthly across the globe in a new initiative to reduce their impact on the marine environment.
With face coverings now a legal requirement in most public spaces around the world, billions of facemasks are being improperly disposed of monthly, creating a looming environmental disaster, which scientists have predicted, could last from generations. According to some estimates, globally we are using 129 billion facemasks and 65 billion plastic gloves every month.
Natalie Banks, Founder of Azraq stated that the majority of masks being worn are the single-use versions, manufactured from long-lasting plastic materials. When discarded improperly, these masks can persist in the environment for decades to hundreds of years
"Initially, discarded masks may risk spreading coronavirus to waste collectors, litter pickers or members of the public who first come across the litter. We know that in certain conditions, the virus can survive on a plastic surgical mask for seven days," Ms Banks said.
"Additionally, plastics break down into smaller pieces over time, called microplastics and eventually into even smaller nanoplastics. These tiny particles and fibres are often long-lived polymers that can accumulate in food chains. Just one mask can produce millions of particles, each with the potential to also carry chemicals and bacteria up the food chain, ingested by animals that we in turn consume. This can result in many serious health problems such as heart disease and cancer, due to the pollutants that plastic attracts."
"Some animals also cannot tell the difference between plastic items and their prey, subsequently choking on pieces of litter or become entangled in the elastic within the masks as they begin to break apart. As a result conservationists have recommended that the elastic earpieces on masks be cut in an attempt to reduce these entanglements.
To find out more about the initiative head to www.azraqme.org/maskmadness