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pandemics

3.4 billion masks thrown away every day

ByMaria C. Powell, PhD

Apr 21, 2021

Comic by Joe Heller–HELLERTOON.COM


“Globally, 65 billion gloves are used every month. The tally for face masks is nearly twice that—129 billion a month. That translates into 3 million face masks used per minute.A separate study reports that 3.4 billion face masks or face shields are discarded every day. Asia is projected to throw away 1.8 billion face masks daily, the highest quantity of any continent globally. China, with the world’s largest population (1.4 billion) discards nearly 702 million face masks daily.”

How to stop discarded face masks from polluting the planet

Laura Parker, National Geographic, April 14 2021

a California sea lion encounters a discarded face mask
The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects extend to ocean ecosystems. Here, a California sea lion encounters a discarded face mask in the waters off Monterey. Photograph by Ralph Pace

Read the whole story here.

 

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