Discarded coronavirus face masks and gloves rising threat to ocean life, conservationists warn
The bright colours of latex gloves risk can be mistaken as food by seabirds, turtles and other marine mammals putting them at risk of severe injuries and death
Louise Boyle
New York
April 17, 2020
The rise in disposable face masks and gloves being used to prevent the spread of coronavirus is adding to the glut of plastic pollution threatening the health of oceans and marine life, environmentalists warn.
On Wednesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order, effective this weekend, that New Yorkers must now wear a mask when out in public in situations where social distancing isn’t possible.
The CDC advises wearing cloth masks in public (although President Trump says it’s not mandatory and he "doesn't see it for himself") due to the concern that Covid-19 can be spread by people who are infected but not showing symptoms.
Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned Americans to stop buying medical masks that are needed by healthcare workers.
It has done little to stop a wave of single-use masks and latex gloves being used and discarded.
On social media, pictures of bright blue gloves and crumpled masks littering streets, shopping carts, parking lots, beaches and green spaces are being posted around the world. It’s left to sanitation workers and grocery story staff, those essential but underpaid frontline employees, to pick them up.
Those not picked up can be caught by a gust of wind or washed down drains, ending up in the ocean and waterways.
Not only is there a potential health risk of dropping used masks and gloves during the pandemic but many contain materials that do not recycle and are not biodegradable. Surgical masks are made using non-woven fabrics including plastics like polypropylene.
Gary Stokes, co-founder of OceansAsia, holds up the masks he found strewn across beaches near Hong Kong in February 2020
According to NOAA, plastic wreaks havoc on marine ecosystems. As plastic swirls around in the water, much of it breaks down to tiny pieces, called micro-plastics.
The Ocean Conservancy discovered that many fish species consume plastics debris, confusing it for real food and estimated that at least 600 different wildlife species are threatened by the pollution.
There is also a human health risk from plastic entering the food chain with nearly a billion people around the world consuming seafood as their primary source of protein.