Humans Are Pigs. Research Says Almost 2 Billion Masks In Oceans
A research study done by the organization OceansAsia has been able to calculate the number of face masks that may be floating in earth’s oceans from their use during the 2020 year. I know that me personally, just going to the supermarket, I encounter sometimes a dozen or so face masks that have been discarded improperly and are just laying on the ground or stuck in a tree branch somewhere. Whether you realize it or not, even the paper cloth masks have some plastic in them, and those are some of the worst ones in this problem. Director of Research over at OceansAsia, Dr Teale Phelps Bondaroff, stated that “Once plastic enters the marine environment, it’s very difficult to move.“. (Watch the videos below)
The study has been going on for quite a while now. Before Covid, they were ‘not finding any face masks’. They were able to see a tremendous explosion first coming out of Hong Kong just before March. Dr Bondaroff continued “About six weeks after COVID hit Hong Kong, so late February, we began finding masks, and lots of masks. What’s remarkable is we weren’t finding face masks before COVID.”. As stated above, even the masks that appear to be all cloth, are constructed out of polypropylene which is basically ‘thin fibers of plastic’. The researchers were concerned, “The fact that we are starting to find masks that are breaking up indicates that this is a real problem, that microplastics are being produced by masks.” Those pieces of plastic take hundreds of years to eventually decay away completely. (Watch the videos below)
Using 2020 as the test year, it’s been estimated that about 52 Billion face masks were manufactured worldwide (in 2020 year). Out of that, approximately 1.6 Billion of those will enter the world’s oceans this year. That amount equals about 6 metric tons (6.61 US Tons) of plastic pollution added to the oceans. Dr Bondaroff said “The 1.56 billion face masks that have entered our oceans in 2020 are there for the long run. They will remain in the ocean for 450 years or more, and they’ll break into smaller pieces.”. While acknowledging the need to ‘keep people safe’ with masks, and the fact that the ‘mask plastic’ is only a fraction of the pollution problem our oceans have endured. “That’s important, we need to keep people safe, but at the same time that has a lasting impact on our environment, and we’re seeing that on the beaches.” (Watch the videos below)
What can be done at this point? First off, ‘experts’ recommend wearing a re-usable mask, and to wash it regularly. If you are going to use the disposable face masks, then discard it properly. Funny how it’s ‘safe’ to throw used masks everywhere that were used to protect us from such a deadly virus. You’d think the federal health department (or even at the local level) would have made sure that bio-hazard bins were distributed all over the country. But no, toss them anywhere, it’s cool. The report finalizes itself by continuing with what additional steps can be taken. They’ve asked for manufacturers to design masks that are made from materials other than the plastics used today. They’d recommended increasing fines for littering and improper disposal of face masks, along with educating the public so that more people are informed. What do YOU think? What else can be done to curb the irresponsible disposal of one-time use face masks? Please feel free to drop a comment below. (You can comment below the videos)
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