Are used face masks handled as infectious waste? Novel pollution driven by the COVID-19 pandemic

Public views on tourist beach environment from multinational countries and ensuing changes during global epidemic

“…In Moroccan Mediterranean coast, recreational beaches were the most polluted beaches for the presence of 321 face masks of single use indicating the increment of microplastic pollution (Mghili et al 2022). In Ghana, a total of 535 face masks were found along a stretch of 1720 m, which also affirms the emergent of microplastic pollution and trace metals (Pb, Cu, Sb, Zn, Mn, Ti, Fe, and Ca) (Amuah et al 2022). In the Philippines, there was a total of 386 of personal protective equipment (PPE), face mask (n = 377), and face shield (n = 9) (Sajorne et al 2022).…”

Density variability of COVID-19 face mask litter: A cautionary tale for pandemic PPE waste monitoring

“…In short, among studies with mean face mask densities between 0.01 and 8.0 × 10 −3 m −2 , those data sets having higher mean densities also displayed correspondingly higher variability about those means. Secondary analyses on density variability within individual studies could be performed on 24 sets of data presented in 18 papers ( Akhbarizadeh et al 2021 ; Ammendolia et al 2021 ; De-la-Torre et al 2021 ; France 2021 ; Haddad et al 2021 ; Rakib et al 2021; Thiel et al 2021 ; Abedin et al 2022 ; Amuah et al 2022 ; Cueva 2022 ; De-la-Torre et al 2022 ; Gunasekaran et al 2022 ; Hassan et al 2022 ; Kutralam-Muniasamy and Shruti 2022 ; Mghili et al 2022 ; Ribeiro et al 2022 ; Sajorne et al 2022 ; Tesfaldet et al 2022 ). In all cases, various diverse measures of data variability, such as standard deviation (SD), standard error (SE), SD range, boxplot range, overall range, unspecified error bar range, were found to be positively correlated with mean densities, with significant relationships (Spearman's rank correlation coefficients) existing in fully 15 of the cases ( Fig.…”

The case of “public congregation vs. COVID-19 PPE pollution”: Evidence, lessons, and recommendations from the annual pilgrimage to the Catholic Holy Site in Mexico City, Mexico

“…Previously, a few studies validated the occurrence and distribution of improperly disposed PPE items in urban areas ( Table 2 ). Some have examined and reported on PPE disposal findings for weekdays and weekends (e.g., Amuah et al, 2021 ), while others have done so for a specific time period (e.g., Ammendolia et al, 2021 ). However, the PPE waste improperly disposed of as a result of responses to public mobility has not been examined or explored in relation to large gatherings in metropolitan areas.…”

“…Resuming activities will result in increased waste management burdens, and it is vital to understand how this process of normalization will unfold in terms of waste management and COVID-19 PPE pollution. Currently, only a few have investigated improperly discarded PPE in the streets of metropolitan cities near schools, hospitals, and residential areas in Canada ( Ammendolia et al, 2021 ; France, 2021 ), Kenya ( Okuku et al, 2021 ), South Africa ( Ryan et al, 2020 ), Ghana ( Amuah et al, 2021 ), Bangladesh ( Abedin et al, 2022 ), and Turkey ( Akarsu et al, 2021 ). These study findings strongly suggest that public mobility has a substantial effect on the disposal and buildup of PPE waste in metropolitan areas.…”