Will coronavirus face masks be the next 'plastic problem?' New research suggests yes
Fox News
Face masks used to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus as well as protecting yourself from the deadly disease have become an important tool in the past year that has been the COVID-19 pandemic. Though they’re necessary and useful, face masks — namely the disposable kind that are made of plastic microfibers — could be contributing to the world’s ongoing plastic problem, suggests new research.
In a study recently published in the journal Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, researchers warned that disposable masks made with plastic microfibers "cannot be readily biodegraded but may fragment into smaller plastic particles, namely micro-and nano plastics that widespread in ecosystems." The pandemic has ramped up the production of disposable masks, which the researchers say is now on a similar scale as plastic bottles, a major contributor to the world’s plastic problem with some 43 billion bottles produced worldwide each month.More Related News