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Plastic and its consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
Researchers examined the dual role of plastic during the COVID-19 pandemic — as life-saving material in medical and personal protective equipment and as an environmental pollutant when improperly discarded — highlighting how pandemic-driven plastic use worsened water body contamination and public health risks.
During the pandemic outbreak of COVID-19, the important role of plastic becomes evident since vital equipment such as respirators have plastic parts, as well as personal protective equipment (PPE), which avoids the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is made of plastic. So, plastic during a pandemic is considered a life savior in the struggle against the virus. However, the same material that is a protector becomes a polluter when inadequately disposed of in the environment, generating or worsening socio-environmental problems, such as pollution of water bodies by plastic. This work proposes a reflection about the role and the importance of plastic in our society, bringing an overview of its main applications and consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic, correlating its use with aspects related to environmental problems and public health. Some questions revolving around the concerns caused by plastic pollution are posed, and some possible solutions to the problems are outlined.