Personal protective equipment (PPE) pollution associated with the COVID-19 pandemic along the coastline of Agadir, Morocco

Abstract

The increasing use of personal protective equipment (PPE) as a sanitary measure against the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has become a significant source of many environmental risks. The majority of the governments enforce the use of PPE in public areas, such as beaches. Thus, the use and disposal of PPE have compromised most solid waste management strategies, ultimately leading to the occurrence of PPE polluting the marine environment. The present study aimed to monitor the PPE pollution associated with COVID-19 along the coastline of Agadir, Morocco. In parallel, the influence of the activities carried out in each sampled beach before and after the lockdown break was reported. Overall, a total number of 689 PPE items were identified, with a mean density of 1.13 × 10 −5 PPE m −2 (0–1.21 × 10 −4 PPE m −2 ). The majority of the PPE items found were face masks (96.81%), out of which 98.4% were surgical masks and 1.6% were reusable cloth masks. The most polluted sites were the beaches with recreational activities, followed by surfing, and fishing as the main activity. Importantly, PPE density increased significantly after lockdown measures. Additionally, the discarded PPE sampled in the supralittoral zone was higher than PPE recorded in the intertidal zone. This confirms that PPE items are driven by the beachgoers during their visit. PPE items are a source of microplastic and chemical pollutants, a substrate to invasive species colonization, and a potential threat of entanglement, ingestion, and/or infection among apex predators. In the specific case of Agadir beaches, significant efforts are required to work on the lack of environmental awareness and education. It is recommended to improve beach cleaning strategies and to penalize incorrect PPE disposal. Additional alternatives may be adopted, as the involvement of biodegradable materials in PPE manufacturing, recycling through pyrolysis, and encouraging reusable and washable masks.

Binational survey of personal protective equipment (PPE) pollution driven by the COVID-19 pandemic in coastal environments: Abundance, distribution, and analytical characterization

“…Mean abundance in Argentina was slightly higher than PPE recorded in Morocco (2.79 × 10 −4 m 2 ) under non-lockdown conditions ( Ben Haddad et al, 2021 ). This difference between the density and the number of PPE is explained by the difference in the sampled area between the two studies (Morocco: 282,374 m 2 ; Argentina: 474,719 m 2 ).…”

“…As previously mentioned, the use of face masks was recommended to reduce SARS-CoV-2 contagion ( Adyel, 2020 ) and in both studied countries are being mandatory. For this reason, PPE has become more common in some coastal environments around the world ( Akhbarizadeh et al, 2021a , Ben Haddad et al, 2021 , Rakib et al, 2021 , Fadare and Okoffo, 2020 , Gallo Neto et al, 2021 , De-la-Torre et al, 2021b , Ryan et al, 2020 , Akarsu et al, 2021 , Ammendolia et al, 2021 ). In Peru, PPE abundance and density showed great variability across sampling sites.…”

“…A single sampling campaign involving both countries was carried out from the start of the Fall (March) to Winter (July) seasons of 2021. The sampling methodology followed previous studies conducted on the beaches of Bangladesh and Morocco ( Ben Haddad et al, 2021 , Rakib et al, 2021 ). In brief, a sampling area that covered the whole extent of the beach (from the low-tide line to the upper beach limit) was determined in each site and several transects (parallel to each other) separated by 8–10 m were established in order to visually cover all of the beach areas.…”

“…For this reason, large volumes of PPE waste have been generated and inadequately discharged during this pandemic ( Mekonnen and Aragaw, 2021 , De-la-Torre and Aragaw, 2021 ). This type of waste has become a severe environmental concern since it has been evidenced in rivers, beaches, coasts, lakes, and cities worldwide ( Ardusso et al, 2021 , Akhbarizadeh et al, 2021a , Ben Haddad et al, 2021 , Okuku et al, 2020 , Rakib et al, 2021 , Thiel et al, 2021 ), potentially representing a new major type of plastic pollution.…”

Review of hospital plastic waste management strategies for Pakistan

“…According to a model developed by WHO, currently, there is a need for 89 million medical-grade masks, 76 million gloves, 30 million protective gowns, and 1.6 million safety glasses per month for healthcare workers throughout the world as shown in Fig. 2021 (Feinmann 2021 ; Rai and Roy 2021 ; Sangkham 2021 ; Sarkodie and Owusu 2021 ).…”