Disposable Covid Masks – New Environmental Challenge

Researchers in Australia want to transform single-use Covid masks into road material. In the United States, the protective gear is recycled into benches. And in France, they are reborn as floor carpets for cars.

Used to curb the spread of Covid-19, masks are exacerbating another pandemic: plastic pollution.

Around 129 billion disposable masks are used every month around the world, according to the American Chemical Society.

Made out of polypropylene plastic material, elastic and metal, used masks are usually thrown out in garbage bins, destined for landfills, or incinerated.

They are also littering streets, rivers and oceans, harming wildlife.

But researchers and companies are looking for ways to put masks to good use, though it is not a very profitable venture at the moment.

- Garden chairs -

In Britain, several hospitals have acquired a compactor made by Cardiff-based Thermal Compaction Group which melts protective gowns and surgical masks into blue slabs.

The material is then used to make garden chairs or tables.

In France, Tri-o et Greenwishes, a recycling company, picks up masks tossed in special bins used by some 30 customers, including Parisian hospitals, TV network TF1 and building materials giant Saint-Gobain.

"We had a lot of demand from our clients" to offer mask recycling services, said company president Matthieu de Chanaleilles.

The company charges fees starting at 250 euros ($300) per month to collect the trash.

At its recycling plant, staff wearing protective gear stand behind plexiglass to sort through paper tissues, gloves and cups that are thrown in mask bins by accident. Afterwards, the workers are sprayed down with disinfectant.

The sorting area is...