As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, we may find ourselves prioritizing precautions and safety over the environment. Understandably, it is all right to focus on precautions and your safety.  As much of the world is staying home and possibly reducing air pollution and water pollution, we have seen images of rivers cleared such as Venice and air quality vastly improved in China and India. Even with air and water pollution decreasing, we are experiencing a glut of plastic pollution. 

While that has been happening, personal protective equipment (PPE) has been spreading into the oceans. Surgical masks, gloves, body bags, and other protective equipment that are all meant to be single use due to contamination risks are all being discarded at alarming rates. Making matters worse much of the hospital equipment cannot be recycled due to its biohazard labeling, and gets incinerated when coming from a COVID-19 medical facility. 

Disposable items being used in hospitals have become increasingly popular to everyday citizens around the world. Everything from hand sanitizers and other disinfectants, wipe packaging, restaurant take out containers have all been more prevalent than ever all while recycling and reusable items are all at all time lows. 

In France the organization Opération Mer Propre, or Clean Sea Operation PPE items collected during dives, noting that 5% of the total waste collected was PPE items. Julie Hellec, a spokesperson for Opération Mer Propre said, “we wish to alert the world that that could become 80% if we do nothing.” Surfrider, another volunteer group based in the United States recorded disinfectant wipes, gloves and masks collected during beach clean ups since the pandemic started. 

Curbside recycling programs have been suspended by many communities and governments. Cities such as San Francisco have banned the use of reusable shopping bags at grocery stores and companies such as Starbucks do not allow customers to fill their reusable cups. The excess plastic waste affects every part of the world just like the corona virus.  

With the amount of plastic pollution growing exponentially during the pandemic and recycling efforts hampered, the best response may be to ban the single use plastics when possible. Germany has seen a decrease in the number of Covid-19 cases recently and has moved to ban the use of single use plastics by July 2021. Canada followed suit passing a similar law that will take into effect in 2021. Hopefully, other nations can follow suit before we have a global pandemic of plastic in our oceans. 

For more information click on the following links: Covid-19 & Plastics, Covid-19 & The Ocean, and German Plastic Ban.

Written by Alex Paul