This browser does not support the Video element.
PPEs becoming pollutant and global problem for waterways, shores
Disposable face masks and gloves are polluting waterways and streets throughout Puget Sound and becoming a global problem. Q13's Grace Lim reports.
SEATTLE - Disposable facemasks and gloves may be protecting us from COVID-19 but improperly disposed PPE is flooding landfills, sewage systems, and oceans.
"It’s really everywhere in the state, in our alleyways, on the streets, it’s in freshwater as well as the beaches," said James Roubal with WA Coastsavers.
RELATED: Medical professionals stress importance of face masks in wake of WA new mandate effective Friday
Roubal said it’s easy for marine wildlife to mistaken PPE for food and ingest it. Disposable facemasks also pose a danger to animals on land.
"It can cause a lot of entanglements. I’ve seen horrible pictures of birds being wrapped by strings that we put around our ears," said Roubal.
RELATED: Vaccine hunters hope for extra doses at Seattle vaccine site
PPE is also littering Puget Sound. In September, volunteers with Puget Soundkeeper participated in an international coastal cleanup and found 163 disposable facemasks and gloves near our waterways, making it the 12th most common pollutant.
Just last week, cleanup crews with the Department of Ecology collected facemasks near I-5. The department says disposable facemasks are not recyclable and to properly dispose used PPE, just throw it in the trash. For extra precaution, used PPE can be bagged separately before being thrown out.
Stay connected with Q13 News on all platforms:
DOWNLOAD: Q13 News and Weather Apps
WATCH: Q13 News Live
SUBSCRIBE: Q13 FOX on YouTube
FOLLOW: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram