COVID-19 Is Causing Rise In Plastic Waste That Will Harm Environment, Warns Expert

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our lives. Businesses are suffering, people are getting fired from their jobs, and even economies have started to crumble.

Reuters

And even though we¡¯ve seen posts of nature healing itself, pollution levels going lower among several other things, it is not as good for the environment as we think it to be.

The spike in COVID-19 is also spiking the demand and use of PPE (personal protective equipment), plastics in takeaway food, among other things that are resulting in a ton of plastic waste accumulation.

This is impacting the predicted amount of reduction in plastic due to lockdown, which was essentially supposed to heal the environment.

Moreover, due to COVID-19 lockdown, several recycling plants that usually help in dealing with plastic waste are shut, which is only resulting in more plastic waste to get dumped in dumping grounds, severely affecting the environment.

According to energy expert Rachel Meidl of the Baker Institute for Public Policy in Texas, ¡°In an industry already overwhelmed with challenges, materials that would normally find its way to recyclers are being channelled directly as solid waste to landfills and incinerators out of an abundance of caution.¡±

Reuters

¡°An additional consequence of the pandemic has been the repeal of statewide, municipal or corporate single-use plastic bans stimulated by the concerns for safety and cross-contamination of the virus.¡±

She further added, ¡°It underscores the ignorance society has on the unintended consequences of bans implemented without systematic and strategic assessments of plastic waste and their potential replacements."

Meidi believes the solution to dealing with this situation is not just banning plastic products willy nilly, but in fact, systematically addressing the waste problem. She concluded stating, "COVID-19 has not eliminated the need to propel the recycling industry to become more economical and sustainable."