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The COVID-19 pandemic as an impeller for the aggravation of marine plastic pollution and economic crisis: the reserve effect of health protection measures on human lives
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This paper examines how the COVID-19 pandemic worsened marine plastic pollution by dramatically increasing the use of single-use masks, gloves, and other protective equipment. Billions of pieces of pandemic-related plastic waste entered the environment, much of which ended up in oceans. The authors argue that biodegradable alternatives and better waste management are needed to prevent pandemic-era plastics from becoming a lasting marine pollution problem.
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic brought a series of behavioural changes in society, such as the need for social distancing and the use of protective masks or latex gloves. The increasing consumption of these materials has raised a new alert about marine plastic pollution: if, on the one hand, the use of masks and gloves is essential to prevent contamination by the new coronavirus, on the other, it has a direct impact on human health, since that plastic waste, when it reaches the oceans, becomes part of the food chain, and releases its toxins into living organisms, including humans. The damage resulting from these residues inserted in the environment can also be reflected in the world economy as it affects all ecosystem services to some extent, with a reduction in its provision. The present study, therefore, through the inductive method and starting from theoretical and qualitative research, intends to reveal the relationship between marine plastic pollution and its impacts on human well-being and on economy, outlining that the European Union may emerge in a privileged position to lead a transition without plastics in the future, becoming a true model of action to overcome the current scenario.
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