More Masks than Jellyfish - Help save the Ocean
Research has found that the world risks having more masks than jellyfish in the oceans in the near future due to the consequences of producing billions of items of personal protective equipment (PPE) to fight COVID-19.
It’s therefore not difficult to see why conservationists around the world are sounding the alarm over where all these single-use products are ending up as millions of gloves and masks are being used and then thrown away every single day.
Already, some 8 million tonnes of plastics enter our ocean every year, adding to the estimated 150 million tonnes already circulating in marine environments. Since the pandemic this has only intensified. Waterlogged masks, gloves, hand sanitizer bottles and other waste produced as a result of the pandemic are now being found on our seabed’s and washed up on our beaches, joining the day-to-day rubbish already in our ocean ecosystems.
One study estimates that in the UK alone, if every person used a single-use face mask a day for a year, it would create an additional 66,000 tonnes of contaminated waste and 57,000 tonnes of plastic packaging. In reaction to this, world leaders and politicians are signaling that it urgently needs to be addressed.
As countries all over the world confront the coronavirus pandemic, these figures’ risk is growing substantially. With a lifespan of 450 years, these masks will have unprecedented environmental consequences for our planet.
Efforts to tackle plastic pollution can help us improve ocean health, tackle climate change, support biodiversity and build sustainable livelihoods, and people need to be educated on the importance of preserving and saving our oceans from such harmful pollution.More
Even before the pandemic, plastic pollution in our oceans was widespread. The problem is now worsening, and poses a clear and present danger to human health and well being. Protecting the planet is a global concern and our collective responsibility, and we need leaders who recognize the gravity and take action, and on a smaller scale, business schools must continue to educate its community on the growing dangers of marine contamination.
BE PART OF THE SOLUTION, NOT THE PROBLEM.
Please use re-recyclable and reusable masks
Silver Life Mask