It should.
These single-use face masks contain a mix of paper and plastic microfibres, such as polypropylene, polyurethane, polycarbonate, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyacrylonitrile, polyethylene, and polyester, that defies state-of-the-art recycling. Throw your used mask in a landfill bin and that is definitely not the end of the matter.
It will fragment into smaller particles – micro and nano-plastics – that spread through our ecosystems. These mixed materials can’t be separated into pure streams of single materials for recycling either.
Drop one into the recycling bin in the belief that you’re doing the right thing and they get caught in the recycling plant’s machinery and cause breakdowns. When will we face up to the harms such masks do and replace them with washable fabric alternatives?