The vast majorities of the disposable face masks and other outfits, used for protection against coronavirus, pose serious risks of secondary infection as most of these are being thrown away without maintaining hygiene.
Many people are throwing these protective gears in the open spaces without considering the consequences. Every street, drain, sidewalk in the city is littered with masks and hand gloves.
Experts say that such used protective outfits, especially face masks, should be disposed off in a closed litter bin so it has no threat of infection.
The amount of white or blue surgical mask is more than the number of gloves and eye-protection glasses. Experts blame the lack of adequate dustbins as well as awareness and indifference to law as the major reasons. These are being mixed with the soil, or washed away by rainwater and drained into the canals or rivers.
In 2019 hand gloves and disposable masks were sold worth USD 800 million worldwide. In 2020, the figure jumped to 166 billion dollars. Experts say that 75% of the masks will be mixed in the soil or the sea to cause it to a terrible pollution.
Masks made of cotton cloth are putrescent and do not cause much damage to the environment. On the other hand, 90 percent of surgical masks made of a type of polychemical, the raw material for making polythene are not easily decomposed.
Moreover, hand gloves made of plastic and rubber remain undecayable in the environment for a long time. At the same time, almost all the sanitizers that people use are sold in different plastic bottles which are also enhancing the level of environmental pollution.
The use of surgical masks has multiplied worldwide since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Excessive amounts of harmful plastic and polythene chemicals are entering our body from the exuded particles from these masks. Due to this, we are at a risk of cancer and various complex diseases of the lungs.
Syed Zharif Uddin Ahmed, Founder and General Secretary of Bangladesh Environmentalist Society told Bangladesh Post, "Surgical masks on the market can last in the environment for more than 100 years. They will not melt or spoil easily as polythene. These reduces, threatens and endangers marine life, the environment and biodiversity."
The environmentalist added, "The masks are flowing into seas through rivers. Aquatic animals may consume these as food which can affect cause intestinal injuries and cause death. Moreover, being burned in many places as urban waste, these are creating toxic gas which pose threat to air."
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the amount of plastic waste used once in Bangladesh has increased at an alarming rate, according to the Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO).
Their study found that about 12.7 percent of these wastes were surgical face masks, 24.2 percent were ordinary hand gloves made of polythene, 22.6 percent were surgical hand gloves and 40.8 percent were food disposable polythene market bags.
ESDO says that the waste could lead to problems such as asthma, lung disease, premature death from heart disease, shortness of breath, headaches, blurred vision, skin diseases, lung cancer, kidney and liver problems, blood pressure, and low vision in children.
