Masks have now become an object that is part of our daily life. We must wear them as soon as we leave the house and keep them on our face when we are in front of other people. These are the basic rules to which we have become accustomed for months now and which are part of the behaviors to be observed to avoid the spread of the infection from Covid 19. But do you know how to dispose of used masks? If we wear those "Do it yourself" it is necessary to wash them with special detergents that serve to sanitize them and therefore allow them to be reused. Instead, the most common surgical ones should be thrown away. Where is it? In the undifferentiated collection. But some rules must be taken into consideration to respect the environment.
Used masks, cut the elastic before throwing them away
A rule that perhaps few people know concerns the surgical masks. According to some scholars it is necessary to cut the elastic cord of the masks before throwing them away. Because? Simple: if someone throws them on the street regardless of the environment around them, they can become very dangerous. Not only because they potentially contain bacteria and if you are positive for Covid they can spread the virus. But also be dangerous for different animal species. In fact, given that the material with which they are made is not very biodegradable, they are not products that disappear if they remain in the environment. Like so many plastic objects, dispersed in the environment, they can be dangerous for land and water birds. They could be a danger, therefore, for them as legs, wings, beak or neck of an animal could get stuck between the rubber bands.
Masks, the rules for respecting the environment
These precautions are therefore also necessary when throwing the masks in unsorted waste. Precisely to avoid that they can then be dispersed into the environment. But if we all had more respect for the nature around us, we should avoid throwing them on the street and cause suffering among many animal creatures.
The provisions for proper disposal
In recent months, the National Institute of Health has drawn up guidelines for the correct disposal of gloves and masks. Rules that it is useful to remember in these weeks in which unfortunately the infections continue to rise. For the health of our planet, which is constantly put to the test even by a waste disposal that is not always accurate, greater awareness is needed on how to properly dispose of personal protective equipment.. If masks and gloves are contaminated, as they are worn by an infected person or who has been in contact with sick patients, they must be thrown in the unsorted bin together with any other kind of waste.
But first you need to put them in two well-closed plastic bags. Furthermore, when we remove the masks used and no longer reusable, we have to be careful how we remove them, because we don't know if it can be contaminated or not. Therefore, never touch the external part of the mask, but remove it from the rubber bands, and never touch the filter, in the case of the ffp3 mask. These are the most important rules. We hope that soon we will also find a different way of disposal of this kind of waste that can be more respectful of the environment. A bit like what happens today for oil filters, protective clothing or other objects. For now let's try not to forget these simple steps and also help the environment to survive.
