"Wear your mask!" has been a ubiquitous admonition worldwide for nearly two years now.
But apparently "throw your used mask away in a designated trash receptacle" was not part of the whole shebang:
Within days of the World Health Organization declaring a global pandemic, pollution levels plummeted as the world was forced to a grinding halt. That trend continued throughout 2020 with global carbon emissions falling by 2.3 billion tons — a positive swing considering emissions have risen every other year for decades.
But like an addict replacing one crippling vice with another, a new report from researchers in the U.S. and China shows that the pandemic cranked the volume up on another form of pollution altogether: single-use plastic. More than eight million tons of new pandemic-associated waste has been created, and specifically, about 26,000 tons of that have already ended up in the ocean.
Huh! So odd.
Who would have thought that making masks an essentially mandatory feature for existing in modern society would have meant tens of millions of pounds of waste pouring into the world's oceans?
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
