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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Plastic pollution during COVID-19: Plastic waste directives and its long-term impact on the environment
ClearThe plastic pandemic: COVID-19 has accelerated plastic pollution, but there is a cure
This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the global plastic pollution crisis through massively increased use of single-use protective equipment like masks and gloves. Researchers review the environmental consequences and propose solutions including improved waste management, biodegradable alternatives, and policy changes to curb plastic pollution going forward.
Increased plastic pollution due to COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges and recommendations
This review examines how the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically increased plastic pollution through the massive use of disposable personal protective equipment like masks and gloves. Researchers warn that this surge in single-use plastics will accelerate the generation of microplastics and nanoplastics in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. The study emphasizes the need to balance public health measures with environmental safety and calls for a shift toward sustainable alternatives.
COVID-19 Pandemic and Microplastic Pollution
This review links the COVID-19 pandemic to a surge in microplastic pollution driven by increased production and disposal of personal protective equipment including masks and gloves. The authors document how pandemic-related plastic waste entered terrestrial and aquatic environments and argue for circular economy strategies to prevent future public health crises from amplifying plastic pollution.
Microplastic pollution and associated health hazards: Impact of COVID-19 pandemic
This review explores how the COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in single-use plastic waste from masks, gloves, and packaging, increasing microplastic pollution in the environment. Microplastics from this waste can enter land, air, and water, ultimately accumulating in the human body. The study highlights the need for better plastic waste detection, recycling, and management to reduce health risks from pandemic-driven microplastic contamination.
Post-pandemic micro/nanoplastic pollution: Toward a sustainable management
Researchers reviewed how the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to micro- and nanoplastic pollution through the massive use of disposable personal protective equipment like masks and gloves. The study found that weathering of these items releases microplastics into the environment and may even serve as carriers for pathogens. The review calls for more sustainable waste management approaches in preparing for future health crises.
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
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.
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment, waste management, and energy sectors: a deeper look into the long-term impacts
This review examines the environmental consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that while short-term air quality improvements occurred during lockdowns, the long-term negative effects are far more significant. Researchers documented massive increases in single-use plastic waste from masks, gloves, and packaging, contributing substantially to microplastic pollution. The study highlights that the pandemic reversed progress on waste reduction and created new challenges for environmental management across waste, energy, and pollution sectors.
The Impacts of Plastic Waste from Personal Protective Equipment Used during the COVID-19 Pandemic
This review analyzes the environmental impacts of personal protective equipment plastic waste generated during the COVID-19 pandemic, examining how the unprecedented surge in PPE demand overwhelmed waste management systems and contributed to microplastic pollution.
Understanding of environmental pollution and its anthropogenic impacts on biological resources during the COVID-19 period
Researchers reviewed how the COVID-19 pandemic intensified plastic pollution across terrestrial, marine, and atmospheric environments by driving surges in single-use plastics and inadequately managed medical waste, with plastic-related contamination projected to pose escalating transboundary risks through 2030 and beyond.
Review on personal protective equipment: Emerging concerns in micro(nano)plastic pollution and strategies for addressing environmental challenges
This review examines how the massive increase in disposable masks, gloves, and other protective equipment during COVID-19 has become a major new source of microplastic pollution. An estimated 1.6 million tons of plastic waste per day was generated from discarded protective equipment, and as this gear breaks down, it releases micro- and nanoplastic particles into soil and water. These particles can accumulate in seafood and other organisms, creating another pathway for human microplastic exposure.
Plastic and its consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic
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.
Effects of COVID-19 on coastal and marine environments: Aggravated microplastic pollution, improved air quality, and future perspective
Researchers conducted a comprehensive review of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected coastal and marine environments between 2020 and 2023. The study found that pandemic-related waste, particularly personal protective equipment, significantly increased microplastic pollution in marine ecosystems, while lockdowns temporarily improved air quality. Evidence indicates that the environmental legacy of COVID-19 includes lasting microplastic contamination that will require long-term mitigation strategies.
A Brief Review on Microplastic Pollution in Aquatic Body
This brief review summarizes the extent of microplastic pollution in aquatic environments, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly worsened the problem through increased use and disposal of single-use plastic personal protective equipment including face masks and gloves. The authors call for improved waste management strategies to address this accelerating contamination.
An urgent call to think globally and act locally on landfill disposable plastics under and after covid-19 pandemic: Pollution prevention and technological (Bio) remediation solutions
This review examines how the COVID-19 pandemic worsened plastic pollution through massive increases in landfilled disposable masks and other protective equipment, estimated at 3.5 million metric tonnes in the first year alone. Researchers warn that improperly managed pandemic waste could release trillions of microplastics into the environment. The study highlights innovative waste management and bioremediation technologies that could help mitigate the long-term environmental impact.
Lockdown Litter: A critical analysis of global COVID-19 PPE litter and measures for mitigation
This global analysis examined the scale and distribution of COVID-19 PPE litter, finding evidence of significant plastic pollution from masks, gloves, and wipes discarded during the pandemic. Improperly disposed PPE is expected to fragment into microplastics that will persist in the environment for decades.
Plastic accumulation during COVID-19: call for another pandemic; bioplastic a step towards this challenge?
Researchers reviewed the surge in single-use plastic waste driven by COVID-19 personal protective equipment and evaluated bioplastics as an alternative, concluding that while bioplastics have limitations, transitioning toward them alongside circular economy waste management and policy intervention is essential to prevent plastic pollution from compounding pandemic-era environmental pressures.
Microplastics and other emerging contaminants in the environment after COVID-19 pandemic: The need of global reconnaissance studies
This review examines how COVID-19 pandemic waste, including disposable masks, gloves, and disinfectants, has increased microplastic and chemical contamination in the environment. These contaminants enter waterways through improper disposal, wastewater plants, and surface runoff. The study calls for global monitoring to understand the full impact of pandemic-related pollution on ecosystems and human health.
COVID‐19: An Accelerator for Global Plastic Consumption and Its Implications
This review examined how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated global plastic consumption through increased medical waste and single-use plastics, analyzing the environmental implications and challenges for waste management systems worldwide.
Face masks: a COVID-19 protector or environmental contaminant?
This review examined how the massive global use of disposable face masks during COVID-19 has created a significant source of microplastic pollution, with billions of masks entering the environment and releasing plastic fibers and chemical contaminants.
Mascarillas faciales: contaminación ambiental, efectos toxicológicos, posibles soluciones y políticas globales
This review examined the environmental contamination, toxicological effects, and global policy responses related to face mask pollution generated during the COVID-19 pandemic, documenting how the surge in mask use following the WHO declaration created a new source of plastic waste and microplastic pollution.
Novel Covid-19: The Surge in Plastics (Known-Unknowns), Its Impacts on Public and Environmental Health and The Way Forward
This paper examined how the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically increased single-use plastic consumption — PPE, packaging, and food delivery items — reversing previous progress on plastic reduction. The surge in pandemic plastics is expected to increase microplastic pollution in air, water, and food for years to come.
COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on the environment: A global perspective
This global perspective reviews environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, documenting sharp increases in single-use plastic waste, pharmaceutical pollution, and medical waste that more than offset short-term pollution reductions seen during lockdowns. The authors argue that pandemic-driven plastic surges created a new wave of microplastic contamination entering aquatic and terrestrial systems.
Generation and consequence of nano/microplastics from medical waste and household plastic during the COVID-19 pandemic
This review examines how medical waste and household plastics generated during the COVID-19 pandemic contribute to micro- and nanoplastic pollution. Researchers found that approximately 1.6 million tons of plastic waste were generated daily during the pandemic, with single-use items like face masks and gloves containing non-biodegradable materials that fragment into microplastics. The study highlights that these particles can also serve as carriers for pathogenic contaminants, posing long-term risks to ecosystems and human health.
Investigating the current status of COVID-19 related plastics and their potential impact on human health
This review examines how the COVID-19 pandemic increased human exposure to microplastics through the widespread use of plastic-based personal protective equipment like disposable face masks and gloves. Researchers found that face masks release microplastics that can be directly inhaled during use or transported through the environment, potentially carrying chemical contaminants and pathogens. The study highlights the need for more research on the health effects of PPE-derived microplastic exposure.