Over One Billion Masks In The Ocean Will Take Centuries To Break Down

A new report finds that Coronavirus added approximately 1.6 billion facemasks to the world’s oceans in the year 2020. More than 50 billion facemasks were produced in the year 2020, causing massive environmental problems worldwide and killing many animals.

The Hong Kong group Ocean Asia’s report for 2020 entitled “Masks On The Beach: The Impact of COVID-19 on Marine Plastic Pollution” determined that an “Estimated 1.56 billion face masks will have entered oceans in 2020,” according to Ocean Asia. Ocean Asia also stated that “This will result in an additional 4,680 to 6,240 metric tonnes of marine plastic pollution” and “These masks will take as long as 450 years to break down, slowly turning into micro plastics while negatively impacting marine wildlife and ecosystems.”

Various photographs have been circulating of animals struggling in the age of the Coronavirus masks.

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