Covid-19 is a plague on humanity, but it hasn’t been that kind to the planet, either.
Our efforts to avoid infection led to an unavoidable increase in single-use plastic. Just how much more we are only now starting to grasp.
This month a team of researchers published an estimate, based on sci- entific modeling, that 8 million tons of pandemic-related plastic was produced globally as of August. Furthermore, they estimate that about 26,000 tons has or will end up in rivers, oceans, beaches and, ultimately, in the bellies of sea creatures. By the end of this year, their model projects that another 3 mil- lion tons of pandemic-related plastic waste will be used.
While some of the trash was gener- ated from increased online sales of var- ious consumer goods, about 70 percent of the extra plastic came from, no sur- prise, medical waste such as disposable gloves, gowns and masks. (Another re- port estimates that in 2020 more than 1.5 million disposable face masks ended up in the ocean. Ugh.) The researchers say Asian countries are the source of 72 percent of the pandemic plastic, but that doesn’t make this only a problem for Asia.
For one thing, once plastic waste enters the ocean it becomes everyone’s problem. But also because the U.S., and California in particular, is a huge generator of plastic trash, much of which is transported to poorer Asian countries that don’t have the infrastructure to dis- pose of it properly.
Though the 8-million-ton increase is a pittance next to the 300 million tons of single-use plastic produced in the typical, non-pandemic year, it’s a trend that is headed in the wrong direction.
There’s no reasonable substitute for plastic in many medical applications, particularly safety gear. That’s why it’s imperative that we focus on reducing nonessential single-use plastic—you know, bags and cups and the layers upon layers of plastic film encasing so many products found in every retail store.
This is a conversation that should be happening in every state and every country. Plastic trash isn’t just a litter problem, it’s an environmental disas- ter that is already well underway and will be with us long after the pandemic ends without dramatic intervention.