Hands up if you’ve spotted a disposable mask as litter when you’ve been out and about?
I know I’ve seen plenty.
It’s no surprise really as globally we are using 129 billion face masks and 65 billion plastic gloves every month, according to a recent estimate.
In the UK alone, a staggering 58.8 million face masks are being used daily. Just 10% are being reused with 90% being thrown away.
This means we are sending around 53 million face masks to landfill every single day. When you add it all up, this equates to 1.6 billion face coverings to landfill every month. These will take at least 20 years to biodegrade and contain large amounts of plastic.
The numbers are just mind blowing.
What’s more, the Worldwide Wildlife Fund has also reported concerns about the incorrect disposal of masks, saying: “even if only 1 per cent of the masks were disposed of incorrectly, this would result in 10 million masks per month dispersed into the environment. Considering that the weight of each mask is about 4 grams, this would entail the dispersion of over 40 thousand kilograms of plastic into nature.”
Image from the Egelopvang het Stekeltje animal sanctuary
So what can we do because this situation feels like action is needed? Here’s 4 points to consider:
1/ Where possible, and I appreciate in certain circumstances such as medical settings this is not possible, use a cloth face covering that can be washed and re-used hundreds of times.
2/ If you’re making your own cloth masks, try to use old cotton shirts or old clothing to create them. If sewing isn’t your thing, look for mask sellers who are actively upcycling material. This means you are extending the life of that piece of fabric and saving Earth’s resources
Upcycled mask on Etsy by Dot Owen Design
3/ If you are using disposable masks, did you know they can be washed up to 10 times without losing their effectiveness. Various studies have shown that disposable masks could withstand washing at 60C, tumble drying and ironing 10 times before they started to lose their filtration capacity.
4/ If you are using disposable masks, please cut both ear straps before binning. This advice is from the RSPCA as more and more wildlife both on land and sea is becoming entangled in the masks.
As masks are likely to remain part of our daily lives for the foreseeable future, let’s make some small but conscious choices to help the environment. Thank you for reading!