NEW DELHI: Already fighting pollution created by single-use plastics and other non-biodegradable material, the world is facing a new challenge in disposing masks, gloves and personal protective equipment amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Environmentalists say PPEs, masks and gloves are mainly made of plastic and are neither biodegradable nor recyclable. Amid the ongoing health crises, they are creating an unexpected impact on the environment resulting in “a silent, invisible health hazard for a large number of people”
“The government needs to act now to ensure a green recovery that incentivises sustainability. Our health care governance and industry must also quickly respond, install toxic gas absorbing filters and take all necessary steps for safe disposal of the huge amounts of biomedical waste being generated,” says Soumya Dutta, an environmental expert.
Dutta says while health workers and frontline workers must be protected, in many places these are openly disposed of, threatening the spread of diseases to larger populations. Even in the case of “systematic disposal” most of these are being burned in incinerators, leading to the creation of two very toxic carcinogenic gases—Dioxin and Furan.
“Most of our hospital Incinerators do not lave specialised filters to eliminate them. This is creating a silent, invisible health hazard for a large number of people living around these incinerators and might end up having cancer and other diseases in the years to come,” adds Dutta.
Meanwhile, according to Ramnath Vaidyanathan, General Manager (Sustainability) at Godrej Industries Limited, carelessly discarded PPEs can end up polluting land, rivers and oceans, adding to the glut of plastic waste already threatening the ecosystem.
“It is imperative for the country to step up efforts to sensitise regarding proper handling of biomedical waste to protect the environment and reduce the threat of Covid-19,” he said.