Italy produced 10% less garbage during its coronavirus lockdown, but environmentalists warn that increased reliance on disposable masks and packaging is imperiling efforts to curb single-use plastics that end up in oceans and seas. Italian researchers estimate that during the peak months of Italy’s lockdown in March and April, urban waste production fell by 500,000 tons. That decrease is enabling dumps in Italy — where trash collection in major cities has often become a hot-button political issue — to absorb the 300,000 tons of extra waste from protective masks and gloves estimated to be used this year, according to the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research.
But the pandemic dealt a blow to efforts to move away from single-use plastics in many places where they were just beginning to become mainstream. U.N., Greenpeace, Italy’s Marevivo environmental organization and other such groups are warning that continued reliance on single-use plastics will pose longer-term risks to the environment. That’s particularly true for a country with a long coastline along the Mediterranean Sea, which is plagued by the tiny bits of broken-down plastic known as microplastics.
Italy’s National Center for Research reported in 2018 that the presence of microplastics on surface seawater off Italy’s coasts was comparable to levels found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the collection of ocean debris that spans part of that ocean. Globally, the U.N. Environment Program has warned that the increased use of single-use plastics in protective equipment could lead to uncontrolled dumping and add to marine pollution, and it has urged countries to develop adequate disposal plans. The U.N. Trade body, UNCTAD, estimates that worldwide global sales of face masks alone will reach $166 billion this year, up from $800 million in 2019.
Source: The Mainichi
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