In 2020, more than three billion single-use masks were thrown out across the globe every day, contributing to a significant portion of pandemic-related litter entering the environment.
However, locally, the extent of this problem remains unclear. That’s why on Clean Up Australia Day volunteers will unmask the impact of this problem by tallying the number of face masks collected and removed from the environment.
Clean Up Australia chair Pip Kiernan says there was no doubt the amount of plastic waste had been surging because of the pandemic. However, at present there was no data to confirm the number of face masks in our environment.
“We can’t cover up the problem – now is the time to act,” Ms Kiernan said.
“Our environmental issues have not gone away because of COVID, rather, they have escalated because of the mountain of rubbish we’ve created.”
All registered volunteers for Clean Up Australia Day can join the Citizen Science project.
Registration means participants are covered by Clean Up Australia's public liability insurance and all community and school groups receive free gloves and bags (businesses are asked to pay a small fee to cover costs).
Plastics in disposable masks can take up to 450 years to break down and researchers have warned that dumped single-use masks could be releasing chemical pollutants and nano-plastics into the environment.
Over the past two years there have been disturbing cases of seabirds and wildlife found tangled up in carelessly discarded single-use face masks.
“We implore you not to litter your mask,” Ms Kiernan said.
She added that the next generation of PPE equipment needed to be designed to not only be safe but to have the lowest environmental footprint possible.
