EDITORIAL - Face mask pollution

In Davao City, discarded face masks were found at the Panigan-Tamugan watershed, which supplies water to the city. Around the country, similar problems have cropped up, and not just in bodies of water.

Improper waste disposal has always been a problem in this country. Even in the issue of plastic waste, companies that recycle plastic for low-cost construction materials and other items stress that the problem is not so much the use of plastic but filthy habits, compounded by weak enforcement of laws governing waste disposal.

The tons of solid garbage that wash up along the Manila Bay coastline especially during typhoons include not only plastic waste but also a wide range of other materials – tin and other metals, Styrofoam, aluminum foil, cardboard, glass, wood, rocks and concrete pieces, food waste, all types of paper products.

With the COVID pandemic, the garbage piles now include discarded infectious waste particularly face masks. Hospitals and other medical facilities are required to follow safety protocols in the disposal of infectious waste. There are also laws and local ordinances governing littering and proper disposal of industrial, commercial, office and household waste.

Yet the regular reports of discarded face masks polluting bodies of water or littering streets are clear manifestations of long-entrenched bad habits when it comes to solid waste management, even in the worst public health crisis the country has suffered. Health experts have warned that in the raging COVID pandemic, improper disposal of used face masks can spread the virus.

Even bad habits can be broken, with sufficient interventions and information. Health authorities can disseminate warnings about the risk of infection from face masks discarded indiscriminately. Police and barangay personnel can improve enforcement of laws and rules on garbage disposal and against littering. Local governments can provide more public receptacles for garbage. There are enough killer germs circulating; people don’t need to increase the health risks through the careless disposal of infectious waste.