Over 6 mn facemasks disposed daily: country faces a new threat

By Ifham Nizam

The next environmental crisis in the country could be due to the dumping of face masks as more than six million face masks were released to the environment every day, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said yesterday.

Amaraweera said he believed that social responsibility was of utmost importance at a time when the country was struggling to tackle a pandemic.

“Everyone in our country is to wear a face mask. It is mandatory to wear rubber gloves in some institutions. According to information received by the Ministry of Environment, about five million surgical face masks and one million KN 95 face masks are being discharged into the environment daily.”

Although the health sector has advised people to wear masks, the public has not yet received proper advice on how to dispose of them in a proper manner, he added.

At present, there are three categories people using masks. First is the infected people; the second group is those who are quarantined after having associated with the infected, and the third consist of those who wear masks to protect themselves.

The Environment Minister said that some people disposed of their masks without following any safety precautions.

Last week, nearly 100 water samples were tested in a river in Ecuador. All those samples were found to be infected with the Covid-19 virus, said the minister.

“Therefore, if this virus spreads in the river system of our country too, we will have to face a serious health crisis. Therefore, local authorities should be instructed to strictly implement the guidelines for the prevention of Covid-19.”

Guidelines are currently being prepared by the Central Environmental Authority. Face masks add up to six million a day, which means 180 million a month.