BSU sustainability project: Mask pollution from COVID-19 pandemic a growing concern

Race Maddock
·3 min read
A discarded face mask lies in the street in San Francisco last week. Disposable masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment have safeguarded untold lives during the pandemic. They're also creating a worldwide environmental problem, littering streets and sending an influx of harmful plastic into landfills and oceans.
A discarded face mask lies in the street in San Francisco last week. Disposable masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment have safeguarded untold lives during the pandemic. They're also creating a worldwide environmental problem, littering streets and sending an influx of harmful plastic into landfills and oceans.

Editor's note: The following is part of a class project initiated in the classroom of Ball State University professor Adam Kuban, who challenged his students to find sustainability efforts in the Muncie area. Several such stories are being featured in November and December 2021.

MUNCIE, Ind. – During the middle of March 2020, a large portion of Americans started to realize the severity of the growing COVID-19 crisis.

A pandemic had been declared; travel to other countries was advised to be avoided, and states had begun to impose stay-at-home orders. While the media reported that toilet paper and paper towels had become noticeably absent from stores' shelves, another problem was soon to arise.

When states began to enforce mask mandates, people were scrounging to find face coverings wherever they could, and the prices rose. The World Health Organization stated on March 3, 2020, that surgical masks had seen a six-fold increase in price.

More: BSU sustainability project: Many threats to modern bee populations exist in the Midwest

Nearly two years after the pandemic started, a great number of these masks have found their way from our faces into our oceans and forests, and they have started a new, increasingly concerning problem for our environment: mask pollution.

According to a 2020 study by Hong-Kong-based marine conservation organization OceansAsia, published in “Masks on the Beach: The Impact of COVID-19 on Marine Plastic Pollution,” our oceans were polluted by an estimated 1.56 billion face masks at the end of 2020.

That resulted in an extra 4,680 to 6,240 metric tons of plastic being deposited into the water. At its max estimate, that is about the weight of almost 9.2 million normal-sized basketballs.

Your typical disposable masks are made up of mainly polypropylene, which is a plastic that is commonly used in items like bottle caps, laundry detergent bottles, and food packaging, as stated by Waste4Change, an Indonesian organization dedicated to waste management.

This type of plastic can absorb toxins and organic contaminants, which can poison marine life and impair development, according to a 2021 study published by Elsevier titled “Environmental challenges induced by extensive use of face masks during COVID-19: A review and potential solutions.”

When not broken or disposed of correctly, disposable masks can also cause entanglement, which can lead to the death of animals. But it’s not just an aquatic issue; it’s affecting our land – and even our streets.

More: BSU sustainability project: Muncie forestry leadership plants native trees around city

Joshua Gruver, an associate professor of natural resources and environmental management at Ball State University, said that while the topic of mask pollution has not come up yet in his research regarding forest conservation and preservation, he admittedly thinks about it a lot.

“No matter where you are — on the highway, walking downtown or on campus or in another state — the blue medical masks in particular are everywhere,” said Gruver. “Abandoned on sidewalks, gutters, road shoulders, you name it. It certainly speaks to the fact that many people are wearing them, which is a good thing.”

However, the environmental cost of masks is seen as something of a double-edged sword.

“Right now, masks are an interesting item to think about. Because of the uncertainty caused by the COVID virus and the difficulty with early mask use, I may actually lean toward the environmental waste being worth the cost,” said Jane Ellery, a representative of Sustainable Muncie, a nonprofit organization that looks to revitalize low-and medium-income communities.

“That is rapidly changing, though. By this point in the crisis, we should be better equipped to handle mask use.”

Amy Gregg, Ball State associate professor of environment, geology and natural resources, mentioned how difficult she felt it was to gauge the potential issue.

“I struggle with this question all the time in the classes I teach,” said Gregg, when asked about the cost of possibly harming animals to save human lives. “This disease is just so difficult. It’s a terrible tradeoff.”

To combat this, it is suggested to wear a reusable mask, according to Yale Sustainability. While some disposable mask wearers might throw them out after only a day, reusable masks can be used repeatedly as long as they are cleaned often. In doing this, you will do your part in helping to keep plastic out of our oceans and off our land.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: BSU sustainability project: Mask pollution, past the pandemic