Image credit: Laura Herberg/WDET
From masks to ‘wipey-dipes,’ Canton community members noticed a lot more litter than in years past, due largely in part to improperly discarded personal protective equipment.
Phyliss Macuga Baker stands in a field next to a shopping center in Canton holding a trash bag and scanning the area. There are drink bottles, cigarettes, plastic bags and plenty of personal protective equipment lying in the grass.
“People that are very conscious of COVID-19 and they want to take care of their sanitary needs drop all of their wipey-dipes and their masks in here. And so I’ve probably picked up 25 masks already, probably two or three rolls of wipey-dipes,” says Macuga Baker, who calls sanitary wipes “wipey-dipes.” “And it’s very sad. I’ve lived in the community for 28 years and I’ve never seen it like this.”