_.png)
The coronavirus outbreak has caused a massive demand for single-use masks and latex gloves. Conservationists have now found several of these items on the ocean floor, spreading fear of a surge in ocean pollution.
In May the French NGO Operation Mer Propre voiced its concern after activist divers picked up masks, gloves and hand sanitiser bottles along Côte d'Azur. The NGO referred to these items as 'Covid waste'. OceansAsia, an NGO based in Hong Kong, also reported 'Covid waste' pollution after 100 masks washed ashore on an uninhabited island near the city. OceansAsia launched an investigation into other areas after this incident and found that 'Covid waste' was littered across all of the researched territories.
The NGOs reported that individual carelessness was not the main reason to 'Covid waste' pollution. Instead, the wind carries the waste into the ocean from boats, landfills and land.
Single-use masks contain plastic and take 450 years to degrade. Thus, if these enter the ocean, plastic pollution increases within the sea, where it harms marine life and disturbs marine environments. Currently, approximately 13 billion tonnes of plastic enter the sea each year. WWF estimates that 570,000 of these are dumped in the Mediterranean. This is equal to 33,800 plastic bottles every minute. To stop this number from increasing as a consequence of 'Covid waste' measures need to be taken to stop ocean pollution. For instance, people should use reusable gloves and masks and wash them frequently, instead of opting for single-use alternatives.