The UN estimates that 13 million tons of plastic are dumped in the sea each year and that half of the plastic produced globally is for single-use items. Dipto Paul Reports.
Recently, due to Covid-19, the use of single-use plastic products has increased significantly across the globe.
The purchases of masks, gloves, gowns, which all are made using single-use plastic materials, have risen dramatically since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as other environmentally damaging items such disposable wipes and liquid soap (which comes inside a plastic container).
According to a WWF report: “if just 1% of the masks were disposed of incorrectly and dispersed in nature, this would result in as many as 10 million masks per month polluting the environment.”
Here are some images demonstrating how this pandemic has increases the use of plastic…
Photograph: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty
Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty
