4.7 Article

COVID-19 pandemic and emerging plastic-based personal protective equipment waste pollution and management in Africa

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ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2021.105222

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SARS-CoV-2; Single-use plastics; COVID plastic wastes; Plastic pollution; SDG 3; SDG 11; SDG 14

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The threat of plastic waste pollution in African countries has been increasing exponentially since the declaration of the coronavirus as a pandemic. Factors contributing to this threat include increased consumption of single-use plastics, lack of proper waste management infrastructure, and urbanization. The widespread use of plastic-based personal protective equipment during the pandemic has led to a significant amount of waste being generated, with billions of masks being disposed of every month. This expert insight aims to draw attention to the potential risks of COVID-generated plastics and the environmental impacts that may exacerbate the existing plastic pollution crisis in Africa.
The threat of plastic waste pollution in African countries is increasing exponentially since the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus infection as a pandemic. Fundamental to this growing threat are multiple factors, including the increased public consumption for single-use plastics, limited or non-existence of adequate plastic waste management infrastructures, and urbanisation. Plastics-based personal protective equipment including millions of surgical masks, medical gowns, face shields, safety glasses, protective aprons, sanitiser containers, plastics shoes, and gloves have been widely used for the reduction of exposure risk to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This paper estimates and elucidates the growing plethora of plastic wastes in African countries in the context of the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. A Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectral fingerprint indicates that face masks were characterised by natural and artificial fibres including polyester fibres, polypropylene, natural latex resin. Our estimate suggests that over 12 billion medical and fabric face masks are discarded monthly, giving the likelihood that an equivalent of about 105,000 tonnes of face masks per month could be disposed into the environment by Africans. In general, 15 out of 57 African countries are significant plastic waste contributors with Nigeria (15%), Ethiopia (8.6%), Egypt (7.6%), DR Congo (6.7%), Tanzania (4.5%), and South Africa (4.4%) topping the list. Therefore, this expert insight is an attempt to draw the attention of governments, healthcare agencies, and the public to the potential risks of SARS-CoV-2-generated plastics (COVID plastic wastes), and the environmental impacts that could exacerbate the existing plastic pollution epidemic after the COVID-19 pandemic.

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