A new study found that “COVID waste” such as disposable face masks have emerged as a threat to wildlife habitats after they are discarded.
“We signal COVID-19 litter as a new threat to animal life as the materials designed to keep us safe are actually harming animals around us,” the study’s authors wrote in the paper’s abstract.
Researchers found cases of wildlife being harmed from across the globe, noting that litter from COVID supplies was affecting every species from foxes in the United Kingdom to birds in Canada. Disposable face masks, which have seen widespread use since the pandemic began, were found to be particularly damaging to wildlife.
“Vertebrates and invertebrates on land, in freshwater, and in seawater become entangled or trapped in corona waste,” said biologist Auke-Florian Hiemstra, one of the study’s authors.
MASKS ADD UP TO 6,240 METRIC TONS OF PLASTIC POLLUTION TO OCEANS IN 2020
The study comes on the heels of another study earlier this month that found that about 3 million face masks are being discarded every minute around the world, something researchers warned could have severe environmental effects.
“With increasing reports on inappropriate disposal of masks, it is urgent to recognize this potential environmental threat and prevent it from becoming the next plastic problem,” researchers said, noting the problem had become a “ticking time bomb.”
Animals becoming tangled in masks has not been the only issue researchers recorded, noting they found widespread cases of both wild and domestic animals ingesting the masks.
“Ingestions of COVID-19 litter have also been seen in several domestic animals like a cat and four dogs,” researchers said. “Even a six-year-old child ingested parts of a presumed blue face mask, accidentally baked into a McDonald’s chicken nugget.”
Scientists have long warned about the dangers posed to the environment by plastic waste, most recently sparking a global movement against the use of plastic straws. Many municipalities in the United States moved to ban plastic straws as well, though the bans came with unintended consequences themselves.
But the introduction of vast amounts of COVID litter has scientists worried about even larger environmental effects.
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“We know that, like other plastic debris, disposable masks may also accumulate and release harmful chemical and biological substances, such as bisphenol A, heavy metals, as well as pathogenic micro-organisms,” said University of Southern Denmark toxicologist Elvis Genbo Xu. “These may pose indirect adverse impacts on plants, animals, and humans.”
