Plastics and personal protective equipment: Where does PPE go to die when it’s done saving our lives?
Photo by Matt Miller, a documentation of PPE in his neighbourhood
While personal protective eqipment (PPE) such as masks and gloves serve to protect public health, their increased demand and improper disposal are contributing to plastic waste build up.
Plastics are unable to decompose, instead, breaking down into microplastics then further into nanoplastics. In one form or another, plastics remain in the environment. In an article for Environmental Science and Technology researchers estimate 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves contribute to plastic pollution per month globally.