With social distancing keeping people off the highways and out of the skies, air quality has improved around the world. Compared to 2019, carbon emission fell 4 percent in 2020.
However, it is not the same for the oceans.
According to the Hong Kong-based environmental group, approximately 52 billion face masks were made in 2020 in the face of the pandemic with an estimate of 1.56 billion ending up in our oceans. Environmentalists say that it takes at least 450 years for plastic disposable masks to decompose in nature. It is estimated that marine plastic pollution kills 100,000 marine mammals and turtles, over a million seabirds, and many other wildlife. Plastic pollution was always a huge environmental problem for a long time, but the severity increased in 2020 due to COVID-19. Single-use face masks are made from meltblown plastics, which are difficult to recycle due to both composition and risk of contamination and viral infection. If these disposable face masks are littered, they enter our rivers and oceans. In September 2020, a penguin was found dead on a beach in Brazil and it had face masks in its stomach. Sea turtles frequently mistake these masks for jellyfish, their favorite food. Because of the elastic loops of the masks, they have also increased risks of entanglement for a wide variety of wildlife.
Disposable masks are causing a huge problem in oceans, but the general increase in plastic usage itself is a grave issue. Single-use plastic use has significantly increased as a result of takeout foods. While the takeout system has been helping many restaurants financially, it’s also contributing to the growing heap of single-use plastic globally. Currently, eight million metric tons of plastic waste enter the oceans every year and this is equivalent to one garbage truck’s worth of plastic being dumped into our oceans every minute. Also, scientists predict by 2050, there will be more plastic by weight than fish in the oceans. In addition, COVID 19 has contributed to the global crash in the oil markets, and its low cost made it far easier and more effective to produce plastics even more. The cheaper cost of oil increased the price disparity between using alternative materials such as cellulose and virgin plastic, which is conventionally the most inexpensive way to package goods. To be financially competitive, it is now very advantageous to package the goods with cheap virgin plastic, which contributes to the vicious cycle of increase in plastic waste in oceans.
The pandemic might have decreased air pollution, but it has significantly worsened the condition of our aquatic ecosystems. The authors of the report OceansAsia explain that there are solutions that we can bring to reality to minimize the impact of pandemic-related plastic pollution. Instead of using disposable dental masks, we can wear reusable face masks. If we have used a single-use mask, it should be properly disposed of, and we have to make sure to tie the elastic loops together to ensure it does not entangle wild animals if it happens to enter nature. It is crucial to apply these solutions in our daily lives to minimize plastic pollution in the ocean.
Author: Seoyeon Stephanie Chung LHS Junior
References
OceanAsia. “Estimated 1.56 Billion Face Masks Will Have Entered Oceans in 2020 – OceansAsia Report.” OCEANS ASIA, 7 Dec. 2020, oceansasia.org/covid-19-facemasks/.