The prevailing minimum public health standards (MPHS) are incomplete until it includes the proper way of disposing single-use face masks.
The EcoWaste Coalition made this stand Thursday, March 18 as it urged the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to expand the anti-COVID MPHS to include the safe disposal of used face masks and other COVID-related discards.
“We strongly suggest that used face masks, face shields and other protective materials should be safely managed and disposed of at all times. This should also form part of the MPHS to safeguard public health and the environment from these potentially infectious discards, which are also polluting our streets and oceans,” Jove Benosa, Zero Waste Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition, said.
The recent discovery of discarded face masks entangled in the coral reefs of Anilao, Batangas should have prompted the IATF into instituting measures to ensure that used masks and other COVID-19 waste do not end up contaminating and harming marine life, the environmental watchdog said.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy A. Cimatu had described the face mask discovery at Anilao reef as "alarming".
The EcoWaste Coalition also emphasized the urgency of cities and municipalities in adopting new or strengthening existing ordinances that will forbid and penalize the improper disposal of soiled face masks and other COVID-related waste.
“Local ordinances, if effectively enforced, will encourage citizens to safely manage and dispose of COVID-related waste instead of throwing them anywhere and everywhere,” said Benosa.
At the very least, used face masks should be wrapped on a used paper and discarded in a closed yet separate bin, must be properly labeled, and not simply thrown on the streets where they can end up in storm drains and eventually into the rivers and oceans.
To reduce the consumption and disposal of single-use face masks, the group suggested that non-medical frontliners should opt for reusable cloth masks instead.
“By opting for reusable or washable face masks, we avoid generating non-biodegradable and non-recyclable garbage that only adds to the worsening plastic pollution crisis...limiting people’s use of medical-grade masks will ensure adequate and steady supply for individuals who need them the most," Benosa said.