The Covid-19 pandemic isn’t just taking a toll on people—it’s also affecting the environment. Single-use face masks, plastic gloves, and other personal protective equipment (PPE) worn to slow the spread of the virus that causes Covid-19 are piling up and creating a lot of waste.
PPE is usually made of plastic, which can take thousands of years to decompose, or break down. When a PPE item is discarded on the ground instead of in a trash can, rain or wind can carry it into waterways, says Adam Clause, a scientist at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. “From there, it often ends up in the ocean,” says Clause. That’s a problem for marine life, which can become tangled in the plastic pollution or mistake it for food.
But, says Clause, it’s possible to reduce the plastic waste you produce during the pandemic. For example, people can switch to wearing reusable cloth masks. “We all have an important role to play in confronting this problem,” he says.