Lovemore Chikova

Development Dialogue

As the country observes the 19th National Environment Cleaning Day today, it is important to reflect on how to deal with Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), the new threat to the environment brought by the advent of Covid-19.

President Mnangagwa declared the first Friday of each month as the environmental cleaning day, which has been religiously observed since December 2018.

Today is the first Friday of July, and many people will be out there cleaning their immediate environment.

But in these times of Covid-19, new challenges have risen in the cleaning of the environment, with the wide use of disposable face masks and gloves, as people protect themselves from catching Covid-19, emerging as another hazard to the environment.

It is now common to notice a disposable face mask or glove laying near the street pavement, a footpath or in an alley, not only causing concern on the environment, but also posing a potential health risk.

The PPEs, are slowly, but surely, developing into a major environmental headache.

And the concern is not only confined to developing countries like Zimbabwe, almost every country is viewing these PPEs as the new environmental threat.

While the situation has not yet reached alarming levels in terms of the quantities of face masks and gloves being disposed of on the streets in Zimbabwe, it is prudent that responsible authorities act quickly to avoid a major environmental hazard.

And it will be interesting to notice the amount of such disposable PPEs, those cleaning the environment today will be fishing out.

This gives rise to the reality that those who will be cleaning the surroundings need to be fully protected, as the disposed face masks and gloves can still host the virus that causes Covid-19.

The usual precautions should be observed when people embark on cleaning their surroundings today, including wearing face masks and gloves and sanitising their hands.

The litter associated with Covid-19 should be treated with caution, especially when it comes to picking it up, so that it does not come into contact with the body to avoid contamination.

The challenge falls on the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), which should invoke its environmental protection statutes to control the disposal of PPEs.

EMA should take advantage of the environment cleaning day today to kick-start education campaigns on how people can handle disposable PPEs without causing concern on the environment.

People should get proper information on how they can dispose of such PPEs safely to protect good health and stop spoiling the environment.

The reality is that face masks and gloves will be with us for a much longer period, as long as Covid-19 remains a threat, which means the quantities disposed will be high at a given time.

This is worsened by the compulsory wearing of the masks, which makes everyone a potential culprit in polluting the environment through careless disposal.

Yet, compulsory wearing of the face masks is unavoidable if the country is to reduce the spreading of Covid-19.

Although quite a number of people have resorted to cloth face masks which are reusable, a lot still depend on the disposable ones.

In health institutions, a worker can put on a mask for just a few hours before discarding it, which means a number are used by one person each day.

This has broadened the challenges around Covid-19, which are no longer confined to testing, quarantining and treatment alone, but go beyond the whole spectrum to include effects on the environment.

Our systems need to be upgraded, including the way we handle rubbish, where most households throw away the disposable face masks and gloves.

Garbage collectors should be fully equipped with knowledge on how to handle such disposals to avoid getting into contact with contaminated masks to which they are exposed by their job.

The reality is that if not properly disposed of, other than transmitting the coronavirus, the PPEs like face masks and gloves pose a great danger to the environment.

Proper and effective guidelines on regulating the disposal of the single-use PPEs need to be put in place to enhance the protection of the environment.

Use of face masks is a new practice for the public, as these are usually confined to public health personnel in normal times.

In light of this wide use of the face masks, what is glaringly missing is a deliberate and extensive education campaign on how they can be properly disposed of when soiled, considering the high number of people using them.

If measures are not taken now to monitor and control the disposal of the face masks, the environmental nightmare ahead could just become worse.

Careless disposal of soiled masks should not be tolerated, and those who use them should always be alert to the dangers of throwing them away willy-nilly.

Some cities in China, for example, have come up with tough rules that discourage littering face masks, with individuals and businesses facing heavy fines for failing to comply.

In Shanghai, discarding used face masks in wrong bins by individuals attracts a fine of 200 yuan (almost US$29), while businesses that do not dispose of the masks properly are fined 50 000 yuan (almost US$7 200).

The problem is not only confined to Chinese cities, other big cities like New York in the United States and London in the United Kingdom, have been raising concern over the widespread environmental pollution caused by disposal of such PPEs as face masks and gloves.

It is sad that some users even flush away these face masks and gloves in toilets, putting more pressure on sewer systems and eventually water bodies.

These single use PPEs should be considered hazardous because they are made from polypropylene, a type of plastic that does not break down quickly.

This means that EMA, together with other Government environmental agencies like the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, should provide public bins specially reserved for the disposal of the PPEs.

The PPEs can also be washed in antiseptic liquid, put in a bag and dumped at appropriate places along with other garbage.

While dealing with the environmental hazard caused by the PPEs, it must not be lost that there is an important link between the environment and sustainable development in general.

A decrease in the environmental quality due to both natural and human activities can actually have a major negative impact on the development agenda of a country.

It is time to put environmental issues at the forefront as their contribution to development or lack of it can be immense.

In almost all the cases, including in the case of PPEs, it is human activity that is largely responsible for the environmental challenges.

The effects of environment mismanagement can include pollution of water bodies, air and the general environment, land degradation and declining of natural resources.

And the unsystematic disposal of PPEs can actually contribute to these environmental tribulations.

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