Issue 5, 2022

A pandemic-induced environmental dilemma of disposable masks: solutions from the perspective of the life cycle

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has swept the world and still afflicts humans. As an effective means of protection, wearing masks has been widely adopted by the general public. The massive use of disposable masks has raised some emerging environmental and bio-safety concerns: improper handling of used masks may transfer the attached pathogens to environmental media; disposable masks mainly consist of polypropylene (PP) fibers which may aggravate the global plastic pollution; and the risks of long-term wearing of masks are elusive. To maximize the utilization and minimize the risks, efforts have been made to improve the performance of masks (e.g., antivirus properties and filtration efficiency), extend their functions (e.g., respiration monitoring and acting as a sampling device), develop new disinfection methods, and recycle masks. Despite that, from the perspective of the life cycle (from production, usage, and discard to disposal), comprehensive solutions are urgently needed to solve the environmental dilemma of disposable masks in both technologies (e.g., efficient use of raw materials, prolonging the service life, and enabling biodegradation) and policies (e.g., stricter industry criteria and garbage sorting).

Graphical abstract: A pandemic-induced environmental dilemma of disposable masks: solutions from the perspective of the life cycle

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Critical Review
Submitted
04 Dis 2021
Accepted
10 Mas 2022
First published
07 Eph 2022

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2022,24, 649-674

A pandemic-induced environmental dilemma of disposable masks: solutions from the perspective of the life cycle

Z. Chen, W. Zhang, H. Yang, K. Min, J. Jiang, D. Lu, X. Huang, G. Qu, Q. Liu and G. Jiang, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2022, 24, 649 DOI: 10.1039/D1EM00509J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements