via Forbes
The covid pandemic increased the amount of plastic used globally in our efforts to try to keep Covid-19 from spreading.
Plastic gloves, plastic bags instead of canvas shopping bags, plastic in face mask fibers, plastic face shields and even those syringes the medical professionals use to vaccinate us all. Plastic water bottles, more takeout food in Styrofoam containers, more plastic garbage bags as we cleaned more and took out the garbage more often, and don’t forget all that bubble wrap for all those online orders….Think about what plastic you used over the past 15 months, for example. Now multiply that times 320 million Americans or 7+ billion people worldwide.
Read the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2021/06/09/national-oceans-day-and-the-plastic-pandemic-what-will-you-do/
covid
Pandemic mask mountain sets new recycling challenge
via Phys.org.
Researchers in Australia want to transform single-use COVID masks into road material. In the United States, the protective gear is recycled into benches. And in France, they are reborn as floor carpets for cars.
Used to curb the spread of COVID-19, masks are exacerbating another pandemic: plastic pollution.
Read the full story here: https://phys.org/news/2021-05-pandemic-mask-mountain-recycling.html
Covid-19: the plastic pandemic
via Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa
Lowered on the chin or worn correctly, generously distributed in schools and workplaces, sold everywhere at a controlled price, face masks are now a constant presence in the lives of billions of people. A gust of wind or a distraction is enough for them to disperse in the environment, and already in the first months of the pandemic, when for many they were still unavailable, they had become fairly common waste on the beaches of all oceans.
But protective gear – not just masks, but also gloves, aprons, visors – are just one of the factors that have led plastic consumption to skyrocket in times of pandemic.
Read the full story here: https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Europe/Covid-19-the-plastic-pandemic-210266
Coronavirus is causing a flurry of plastic waste. Campaigners fear it may be permanent
via CNN
Surgical masks, gloves, protective equipment, body bags — the Covid-19 crisis has spurred a rapid expansion in the production of desperately-needed plastic products, with governments racing to boost their stockpiles and regular citizens clamoring for their share of supplies.Related stories
Such production is necessary. But all that plastic ends up somewhere — and environmental campaigners fear it is just the tip of a looming iceberg, with the pandemic causing a number of serious challenges to their efforts to reduce plastic pollution.
Read the full story here: https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/04/world/coronavirus-plastic-waste-pollution-intl/index.html
Kickstart: About those convention plans …
via Plastics News
If you run, plan to exhibit at or want to attend a trade show or convention in 2021, you’re probably wondering just how seriously you should take your travel planning at this point.
It’s complicated, obviously. No one wants to be part of a superspreader event, and everyone wants to resume business as normal. It’s important to be able to meet customers, see new equipment and renew contacts.
Read the full story here: https://www.plasticsnews.com/blog/kickstart-about-those-convention-plans
Kickstart: NPE? Already?
via Plastics News
[M]aking major plans for the first half of 2021 may be just a little difficult to imagine right now.
But the difficulties of 2020 may be exactly the reason to invest in NPE2021, according to organizers the Plastics Industry Association.
“Given the challenges of the past six months, it is vitally important for the plastics community to come together and support each other with a positive outlook to the future,” Tony Radoszewski, president and CEO of the association, said in a news release. “NPE2021 will be the place not only to highlight key contributions in the world’s response to the coronavirus but also to see what’s coming from businesses across an industry that will transform tomorrow.”
Read the full story here: https://www.plasticsnews.com/blog/kickstart-npe-already
COVID-19 is forcing us to rethink our plastic problem
- The global demand for PPE has caused a concurrent uptick in demand for single-use plastics.
- As lockdowns are lifted, we may find our reliance on plastic has increased.
- Companies and governments now have an even more urgent – and tricky – responsibility to transition to a circular economy.
Economic uncertainties and risks of a second wave of COVID-19 might impose significant limitations on waste services. With the pandemic contributing to increased plastic use in healthcare, and large volumes of waste being unfit for recycling due to potential biohazards, medical plastic waste could grow at an unprecedented scale. A similar situation might arise in the food industry and other services that had previously decided to temporally limit reusables. The disrupted waste management and recycling sector would also take some time to recover and would not be able to effectively handle massive volumes of post-pandemic plastic.
Read the full story here: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/covid-19-is-forcing-us-to-rethink-our-plastic-problem/
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