Public discipline is urged for proper disposal of face masks and gloves-Conservationists fear the threat to marine life by their indiscriminate disposal

by Randima Attygalle-May 2, 2020, 12:00 pm

The mounting volumes of disposable face masks and gloves used during the COVID-19 pandemic, unless responsibly disposed of by individuals, will pose serious health threats and take a huge toll on the environment including marine life. Disposal of non-degradable face masks and gloves along with other solid waste at domestic and organizational level will place the janitorial staff at institutional level and garbage collecting personnel at municipal level at high risk.

Although the WHO guidelines urge the public to dispose of masks in ‘closed bins’ news reports from all corners of the world, testify that some are indiscriminately thrown in open dust bins, parks, lifts etc. If any infected masks are among these, respiratory secretions on them can be dispersed and transmitted through the air and as health experts across the world warn, the COVID-19 Virus, when left exposed can survive between a few hours and a few days.

‘The Interim Guidelines for Management of Solid Waste Generated by Households and places under Self-Quarantine due to COVID-19 Outbreak’ issued by our Ministry of Health make provisions for the disposal of face masks and gloves under the clause ‘Special Waste’. The guidelines which are prepared in line with the current domestic solid waste management policy, regulation and standards, make provisions to accommodate the specific needs of the health emergency situation prevailing at present.

‘Special Waste’ under these Guidelines includes ‘waste and potentially contaminated items such as face masks, masks, gloves, handkerchiefs, tissues, sanitary pads, diapers and other materials contaminated by body fluids of people. Special waste should be collected in a leak proof yellow HDPE (minimum thickness of 25 microns or 100 gauge) or LDPE (minimum thickness of 55 microns or 250 gauge) polythene bag.’ In the absence of yellow bags, Guidelines urge the residents to use a ‘yellow plastic strip of a piece of cloth to be attached or tied enabling identification of the special waste bag from a distance.’

The guidelines also note that these special bags should be ‘wrapped tidily and sealed properly to prevent any air movement outside.’ All collected special waste, according to the guidelines should be incinerated. ‘It is mandatory to use thermal treatment methods to dispose these wastes. If not, these wastes should be handed over to an accredited clinical waste disposer for safe disposal through combustion.’

The work places are also advised to follow the waste of COVID-19 suspected persons in accordance with these guidelines and the Ministry of Health’s ‘Operational Guidelines on Preparedness and Response for COVID-19 Outbreak for Work Settings.’ It further note that all cleaning staff should be given training on the correct procedure of waste management. They should be provided with suitable PPE (personal protective equipment), including industrial gloves and provided with adequate facilities for hand washing with soap and water.

Gloves, masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) critical for those in the frontline fighting against the pandemic and also widely used by others in the community are not always disposed of according to the health guidelines. Environmentalists and conservationists across the world fear negative consequences for the environment including marine life as well as the crusade against the plastic pollution as some of the properties found in certain types of disposable gloves and masks may not biodegradable.

Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year for use in a wide variety of applications according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and at least eight million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year; making up 80% of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. The non-degradable masks and gloves during the present pandemic which are not disposed properly will undoubtedly intensify the issue. As the IUCN further notes: ‘Marine species ingest or are entangled by plastic debris, which causes severe injuries and deaths. Plastic pollution threatens food safety and quality, human health, coastal tourism, and contributes to climate change.’

The posting of the photograph by the conservation forum- OceansAsia in February this year, of dozens of surgical masks they discovered in the Soko Islands, lying off the South West coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong was among the earliest alerts of the plastic pollution the global pandemic entails. It is reported that the Co-Founder of OceansAsia, Gary Stokes found some hundred masks washed up over the course of three visits to the beach. The spotting of such a significant number of masks in ‘such a remote location within six to eight weeks since people had started using them’, as Stokes reports, is an alarming forewarning of things to follow.

Although coastal pollution has dramatically decreased around the island during the present lockdown due to restricted human activity as the findings of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) reveal, it can be markedly reversed with the lifting of the curfew and gradual resuming of everyday activity in time to come, warns, MEPA’s General Manager/CEO, Dr. Terney Pradeep Kumara.

Speaking to the Sunday Island, Dr. Kumara, a qualified oceanographer further warns that once the heavy rains set in the country, indiscriminately discarded non-degradable face masks and gloves which will flow to the ocean along with other waste through internal waterways will add to the plastic burden. "Sadly we are already one of the biggest polluters of the ocean in terms of plastic and we cannot afford to add to it in the face of the pandemic," he observes, urging the public to adhere to the strict health regulations pertaining to the disposal of face masks and gloves.

The investigations carried out by MEPA in several locations around the coastal belt including Dehiwala, Kalutara, Negombo, Dickwella, Unwatuna, Matara and Dondra during the past few weeks since the lockdown, reveal a reduction of solid waste levels by about 40% and Nitrate Phosphate levels by about 30%. "Even in terms of E. coli found in the public beaches , there is a significant drop," points out Dr. Kumara. He adds that the absence of river run-off right now, the minimal liquid pollution due to restricted industrial and vehicle movements and low levels of fertilizer use in agricultural areas as most of them are in their harvesting seasons have contributed to this ‘environmental friendly’ landscape along the coast. "The findings are helpful for us to use as baseline data on ‘no pollution condition," he further added.

While clinical waste including surgical face masks and gloves from hospitals are incinerated in high temperature furnaces, it is not the case in public use, says Dr. Kumara. "This is why the public is urged to follow proper disposal methods without indiscriminately throwing them to the surroundings, all of which will end up in water ways and finally in the ocean. While 60% of what flows to the ocean ends up in the sea bed, rest can submerge and be washed away along beaches. Moreover, fish and other marine animals tend to feed on these mistakenly as food, putting them at the risk of severe injuries and death."

As the oceanographer further explains, most of the plastic waste including face masks and gloves which end up in the ocean break into very small particles which are called ‘microplastic’. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) defines microplastic as ‘small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long which can be harmful to our ocean and aquatic life.’ Microplastics have been found in the stomachs of many marine organisms from plankton species to whales says NOAA further.

The damage caused by the plastic as Dr. Kumara explains is "more than what the eye sees," disrupting the supply of Oxygen we breathe. "It is the ocean which provides nearly 50 to 85% of the Oxygen we breathe and this Oxygen is released from the top layer of the ocean which is about 100 meters in depth. When macro and microplastics float on this top layer and mix with the plankton, they don’t receive enough sunlight to photosynthesise and release Oxygen into the air. The lack of sunlight to the top layer of the ocean can result in the destruction of marine life not only in the top layers, but also in the bottom layers, causing dead ocean zones. The dead ocean zones release Hydrogen Sulfide which is toxic."

The report released at the UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid last December endorses this. It notes that ‘the loss of Oxygen from the world’s ocean is increasingly threatening fish species and disrupting ecosystems. Ocean oxygen loss, driven by climate change and nutrient pollution, is a growing menace to fisheries and species such as tuna, marlin and sharks.’

While conservationists fear the environmental toll the increasing use of face masks will entail, certain innovative minds are thinking out-of-the-box to turn this most sought-after ‘double-edged’ commodity of the COVID pandemic to something creative and eco-friendly. The CNN report of a scuba diving group (Professional Association of Diving Instructors or PADI) making face masks out of recycled ocean plastic is one such interesting example. ‘In a win-win for sea animals and humans, a scuba diving group is turning plastic water bottles that once polluted oceans into face masks for people to protect themselves against the coronavirus.’ The face masks adorned with eye-catching designs of sea creatures, are made by PADI with Rash'R, a company that sells eco-friendly active wear, says the CNN report of April 23.