Kiev. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – December 27, 2020 – Ecology
The COVID-19 pandemic could cause a surge in ocean pollution. After all, from now on disposable masks and latex gloves have been added to plastic waste.
In 2020, more than 1.5 billion masks hit the oceans. This was reported by the marine environment group Oceans Asia.
Tracking masks near the shore
Oceans Asia experts tracked the number of masks that were nailed to the shores of a remote island south of Hong Kong. This began in the beginning of the pandemic.
About 6 weeks after COVID-19 arrived in Hong Kong in late February, we began to find many masks.
According to him, no masks were found before the COVID-19 pandemic.
What threatens masks
Masks are made of polypropylene – thin plastic fibers. As explained in the organization, objects break into pieces in the water and tiny pieces of plastic can remain in the ocean for hundreds of years. They threaten the safety of fish and even pollute the air.
Note! Of the 52 billion masks made worldwide in 2020, about 1.56 billion will end up in the oceans. This is from 4680 to 6240 tons.
Ocean pollution: in short
* Even before the start of the pandemic, environmentalists were concerned about the annual catch of 14 million tons of plastic, the amount of which was estimated for 2018 at the UN.
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According to UN Environment research, 570,000 tons of plastic enter the Mediterranean Sea every year.
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Large parts of this material pollute wildlife, threaten the safety and quality of food, human health. Microplastics can be food for many marine animals – they eat plastic garbage or can get entangled in it.
