MASKS EVERYWHERE?!

In the first few months when the COVID-19 pandemic just hit, strict movement orders and lockdowns were enforced globally to flatten the curve, minimizing the burden on healthcare systems. With this also came a boon; as the restriction of movement reduced anthropogenic activities on or near beaches and coastlines, it resulted in less environmental pollution. It was observed that during the period of movement restriction orders, there was less garbage and in particular, plastics, on the beaches and in the coastal waters (Ormaza-Gonzaìlez et al., 2021). Considering that mismanaged plastic waste on beaches and coastlines is a major source of plastic pollution in the oceans, I would argue that this was definitely a win for the environment, no matter how small the actual reduction in pollution.

Of course, we shouldn’t celebrate so early. After all, with the coronavirus also came an immense increase in the production of plastics. Masks, face shields, gloves, hand sanitizer bottles, test kits; everything that has become so familiar to us with the pandemic contains some form of plastic. While the increased production of plastics may not necessarily lead to greater levels of marine plastic pollution, the mismanagement of such plastic waste does. Yet, given the importance of single-use plastics in battling the pandemic, many initiatives and measures aimed at tackling the disposal of single-use plastics have also been put on hold (da Costa, 2021).

And guess what, staying at home may not be that great either. Due to the pandemic, there has been an increase in online shopping as well as food take-outs. With online shopping often comes plastic packaging, and with food take-outs usually comes plastic containers. Although, according to Peng et al. (2021), the biggest issue contributing to increased marine plastic pollution is medical waste from hospitals. It is estimated that “more than eight million tons of pandemic-associated plastic waste have been generated globally, with more than 25,000 tons entering the global ocean” (p. 1) and 73% of the plastic waste are derived from hospitals.

Overall, it is not looking good for the oceans, especially when we literally see masks everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE.