The World Has A New Pollution Problem: Improperly-Disposed Face Masks!

• The world is facing a new environmental problem as some people are irresponsibly-disposing their face masks.
• Environmental groups have warned that this can be dangerous for marine life.
• Meanwhile, experts have also explained that masks worn by COVID-19-infected individuals can pose a health threat to the public.

It looks like the world has to deal with a new pollution problem because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As people across the globe continue to get reminded about the importance of wearing face masks when heading outdoors, it seems a significant numbers of these wearers are having trouble disposing the masks the right way.

It’s a heartbreaking sight to behold that has been becoming more common in some countries. Case in point, Oceans Asia founder Gary Stokes often visits beaches and streets in Hong Kong and he always ends up gathering a lot of masks littered in these places.

According to Stokes, this is dangerous practice especially since many of these masks would eventually end up in the waters and sea creatures, such as turtles and dolphins, may mistake them for food. That, of course, would lead to them getting choked to death.

On top of that, a South China Morning Post editorial tells us that single-use masks are “being strewn on footpaths and roads” all over Asia.

The said article likewise warned about other obvious risks that come with these irresponsibly-disposed masks.

“That some masks could have been used by infected people adds an especially worrying threat. The infection can live for hours or even days in moisture and could be transferred should a person touch it and then their face.”

Watch this SCMP video to learn more:

Meanwhile, an unscrupulous factory in Indonesia has recently been shut down by authorities after discovering that they have been recycling used face masks and selling them to buyers as new.