More than 1.5 billion masks believed to have entered oceans in 2020

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SAN DIEGO, Calif. — For months, we’ve seen face masks in places they shouldn’t be: storm drains, streets, beaches and parks.

Now, we’re learning just how many could be flooding our oceans.

“Once plastic enters the marine environment, it’s very difficult to move," said Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff, director of research for OceansAsia.

entered oceans in 2020
 
 

 



By: Amanda Brandeis
Posted at 1:41 PM, Dec 24, 2020
 and last updated 1:24 AM, Dec 25, 2020
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — For months, we’ve seen face masks in places they shouldn’t be: storm drains, streets, beaches and parks.

Now, we’re learning just how many could be flooding our oceans.

“Once plastic enters the marine environment, it’s very difficult to move," said Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff, director of research for OceansAsia.

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The marine conservation group has been tracking the number of face masks washing up on a remote island south of Hong Kong since the pandemic started.

“About six weeks after COVID hit Hong Kong, so late February, we began finding masks, and lots of masks," said Bondaroff. “What’s remarkable is we weren’t finding face masks before COVID.”

Masks are made with polypropylene, which Bondaroff describes as thin fibers of plastic.