PPE Under the Sea
What can happen when a face mask is thrown away improperly
![PPE Under the Sea](/sites/default/files/styles/sierra_full_page_width/public/2023-05/SMFA21-Big-Picture-Sea-Lion-Mask-WB.png.webp?itok=tCF5Pm0X)
At the height of the pandemic, people were using nearly 130 billion disposable face masks globally each month—and many of them were not disposed of properly. Oceans already take on 8 million tons of our plastic a year. Here, a California sea lion prowling the kelp forests of Monterey Bay comes face-to-face with a new form of litter.
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This article appeared in the Fall quarterly edition with the headline "PPE Under the Sea."