Covid-19 waste poses threat to environment

Published Jun 18, 2020

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DURBAN - Waterlogged masks, gloves, hand sanitizer bottles and other coronavirus waste are already being found on our seabeds and washed up on our beaches, joining the day-to-day detritus in our ocean ecosystems.

In urban areas plastic food containers, cutlery and bags have piled up, clogging landfills as people are stuck at home and are ordering take-aways food instead of dining at restaurants.

According to Wijarn Simachaya, president of the Thailand Environment Institute, urban waste almost doubled between January and March from a year ago mainly due to increased food deliveries.

Along with photos and videos giving disturbing evidence of this new form of pollution, French clean-up charity Opération Mer Propre is among those calling for action. “

There risks being more masks than jellyfish,”