Coronavirus Waste Becomes a Problem, Environmental Activist: More Masks than Jellyfish in the Ocean

TRIBUNBATAM.id - Conservationists have warned that the coronavirus pandemic could trigger a spike in marine pollution.

Because masks and gloves in large numbers were found floating like jellyfish scattered on the seabed.

Quoted from The Guardian, 8 June 2020, the French non-profit Operation Mer Propre, whose activities include collecting rubbish along the Cote d'Azur, began to sound a warning alarm at the end of last month.

Divers have found waste in the form of dozens of latex gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer bottles under the waves of the Mediterranean Sea. 

The waste floats with disposable cups and aluminum cans.

Joffrey Peltier from the organization said the number of masks and gloves found was far from extraordinary.

However, he is concerned, the discovery suggests a new type of pollution is expected to be everywhere after millions of people around the world turn to disposable plastics to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

"This is a promise of pollution that will come if nothing is done," Peltier said. 

Encourage the use of washable masks

The organization also encourages residents to use reusable masks and replace gloves with frequent hand washing.

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"With all the alternatives, plastic is not a solution to protect us from Covid-19. That's the message," he explained.

Prior to the pandemic, environmental activists had warned of threats to the oceans and life in them by soaring plastic pollution. 

According to UN estimates 2018, as many as 13 million tons of plastic enter the sea each year. While the Mediterranean Sea must receive 570,000 tons of plastic flow every year or the same as throwing 33,800 plastic bottles every minute into the sea.

The numbers are at risk of growing substantially because countries around the world are facing a coronavirus pandemic.

A French politician said, masks often contain plastic such as polypropylene.