Pandemic increases plastic waste
About 10 million tonnes of plastics are discharged into the oceans each year. In the Mediterranean Sea, 570,000 tons of plastic are dumped each year, equal to nearly 34,000 plastic bottles per minute, according to the World Wildlife Fund. It is hard to estimate how much plastic is in the oceans today, but the Ocean Conservancy believes there are around 150 million metric tons circulating in marine environments.
When plastic waste is poorly managed, plastics are thrown or washed into streets, backyards, rivers, beaches and coastal areas all over the world. Plastic trash clogs drains and increases flood damage in many cities.
Unfortunately, the coronavirus crisis is intensifying the plastics problem. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that if 1% of the billions of masks being produced are tossed on the ground, this might pollute the environment with up to 10 million masks per month. To make it worse, much of the plastic-based materials being made to protect the public and health workers — like gloves, face masks and gowns — are single-use plastic items, worn once and thrown away.