Masking the Pollution
Many people have no qualms about throwing their masks away in public.
Residents are heeding advice to wear
face masks – but thousands then litter streets with them.
Disposable masks have become a major global environmental issue – millions are being discarded every day.
Covid-19
Billions of face disposable masks
were manufactured globally during the peak of the Covid19 pandemic, and 41
million of them were imported into New Zealand in 2020.
University of Southern Denmark research suggests 129 billion disposable face masks are thrown into landfills every month, and 1.56 billion ended up as marine pollution.
The key material in disposable masks,
Polypropylene, takes up to 450 years to
break down.
“We encourage people to carefully remove and replace their disposable masks in the rubbish bin destined for landfill as these masks cannot be recycled.” said Simone van Asbeck.
Simone van Asbeck, Communication and Engagement Manager for the Hamilton City Council said.
