7 minute read
DISPOSE SAFELY
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ZEESHAN KHAN
Every minute of the day we throw away 3 million face masks. Recent studies estimate that we use an astounding 129 billion face masks globally every month. In the wake of COVID, are waves of masks, shields and gloves. While the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) has been required for us to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, what has also been needed is the safe disposal of PPE. This need, however, has not been met. This is where our Awareness Ties Official Ambassador for the Environment Awareness, Zeeshan Khan comes in with a response and a solution.
ENVIRONMENTALIST, CEO OF BEYOND SMART GROUP & CO-FOUNDER OF RELIVE ECO FOUNDATION
Allié: One step ahead, Zeeshan. This is how you’ve built your career and work as an activist and advocate for the protection of the environment. When it comes to COVID, it seems that the solution found in terms of PPE has created an issue that needs to be addressed before it becomes a new problem of pandemic proportions. Please tell us about when you first noticed a need for an initiative to address pandemic pollution and why it's important to act now.
Zeeshan: Disposable masks, the highly-regarded weapon against COVID around the world, are becoming an enormous environmental problem. We use heaps of them. You only have to look around you to see how many escape the incinerator and end up on the street, in parks and in the oceans. If we want to make more calculations, multiply everything by the 450 years that a mask needs to decompose (they are mostly made of polypropylene), and we arrive at a complete picture of what has now become not only a health emergency, but an ecological one as well.
I first realised the importance of mask disposal when COVID hit India back in March 2020 and since then the mask has become an important part of everyday life. Me and my team were distributing food packets to the needy people in my city. It was a crowded place so we requested people to maintain distance and announced that we will only distribute food packets to the ones whose face is covered with masks. So a guy ran, picked up and put on the used mask from the street and joined the line. I saw him doing that and realised how dangerous it could have been if it would have contained viruses.
That was the time I realised that discarded masks may risk spreading coronavirus to waste collectors, litter pickers or members of the public who first come across the litter. We know that in certain conditions, the virus can survive on a plastic surgical mask for seven days. Dispose of them appropriately and perform hand hygiene immediately afterwards. If medical masks are worn, appropriate use and safe disposal is essential to ensure they are effective and to avoid any increase in risk of transmission associated with the incorrect use and disposal of masks.
Allié: #DisposeSafely is the campaign you created to raise awareness about the safe disposal of PPE. It began in Bhopal, India and has spread to 10 other countries. Tell us about the campaign and its conversion from a grassroots campaign to a global initiative’.
Zeeshan: #DisposeSafely campaign was started on 22 April 2020 (Earth Day) to spread awareness about the safe disposal of Masks, Gloves & other PPE in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection. Since then we are dedicatedly working towards this mission. Environmentalists from over 10 countries supported the campaign by using the hashtag to raise awareness through Instagram and other social media platforms. The campaign was first started by me and my team and then it went viral on social media. Youth has actively contributed in spreading the awareness along with Bollywood celebrities who have joined the campaign. As mask disposal is a global problem, we are continuously working and trying to come up with innovative solutions and possible alternatives to curb this threat.
Allié: A man on a mission to create a ‘Zero-Waste India’, you are not unfamiliar with big tasks. Responding to pandemic pollution is an incredibly large task. What is it going to take to ensure success?
Zeeshan: The Worldwide Wildlife Fund (WWF) has also reported concerns about incorrect disposal, saying: “If even only 1 percent of the masks were disposed of incorrectly…this would result in 10 million masks per month dispersed in the environment. Considering that the weight of each mask is about 4 grams this would entail the dispersion of over 40 thousand kilograms of plastic in nature.” Environmental experts say even if we put them in bins they could still end up finding their way to rivers, oceans, into the environment – or end up filling up more landfill sites – so we should just avoid single-use plastic masks where possible. You can get ahold of reusable masks quite easily, we don’t want single-use plastic to become the new norm again. Different germs can survive on a used mask for different durations. Experts feel that viruses, when left exposed, can survive between a few hours and a few days. My earnest request to all of you is not to throw the used mask indiscriminately in lifts, parks, workplaces, homes, or open dustbins as it can pose a potential health hazard to people who come in contact with such masks. Also, some people are picking them up for re-use and hence putting their life in danger. The infected masks have respiratory secretions on them and can be dispersed and transmitted through the air. So, please be sensitive. Always wash your hands before and after taking off the mask. Manage your mask responsibly:
Cloth Mask
Wash properly and frequently. Hang and air dry.
Surgical Mask
Fold, tie and wrap. It should be removed chin upwards and please take care to remove it from the strings and be careful not to touch the front portion while taking off the mask. After taking the mask off, please fold it half inwards, such that droplets from mouth and nose are not exposed. Then, fold the mask into another half, until it looks like a roll. The mask can also be wrapped with its ear loops so that it will not unravel. Then wrap the mask in a tissue paper or polythene bag and immediately discard it in the yellow waste bag. Keep the things handy before disposing of them.
N95 Respirator
When removing the mask, hold the edge of the straps attached to take off the N95 mask. Don’t touch the inside part of the respirator. Wash hands before and after it. Gently remove the mask so as not to disseminate contaminants on the mask. Place the mask in a plastic bag or zip-lock bag. You can also store them in a breathable container such as a paper bag between uses. Secure the bag tightly. Place the plastic bag into a garbage can or biomedical waste disposal unit. Never put on a new mask until you have properly washed your hands.
Allié: The work you are doing is vital to our planet and to us all, Zeeshan. Please tell us about the Relive Eco Foundation and your plans moving forward.
Zeeshan: Through my organisation Relive Eco Foundation I am introducing the World's First Mask Disposal Reward Program under the Dispose Safely Campaign. We are committed to limiting our environmental footprint by promoting the safe disposal of mask waste. Through the Covid19 pandemic masks are vital in keeping our people safe and our healthcare systems functioning, but we feel obligated to address the waste that is a byproduct of the increased need for disposable face masks. We estimate that over 2.5 million tons of Covid-19 related single-use masks will be used over the next year in India itself. Furthermore, it is estimated that as many as 3.5 billion improperly disposed masks could end up in our world’s oceans this year. Our Mask Disposal Reward Program keeps masks out of landfills by providing rewards in the form of discount coupons for the safe disposal in the mask bins. Contributors can avail the rewards by scanning the QR code at the bins. These masks are collected then sterilized, broken down and repelletized, and given a second life (such as building materials, concrete reinforcements, textiles, etc). ∎
Learn more about Zeeshan & his work: www.awarenessties.us/zeeshankhan
