Disposal Behavior of Used Masks during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Moroccan Community: Potential Environmental Impact

Nezha Mejjad; El Khalil Cherif; Antonio Rodero; Dorota Anna Krawczyk; Jauad El Kharraz; Aniss Moumen; Mourad Laqbaqbi; Ahmed Fekri

doi:10.3390/ijerph18084382

Disposal Behavior of Used Masks during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Moroccan Community: Potential Environmental Impact

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 20;18(8):4382. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18084382.

Authors

Nezha Mejjad^{1

2}, El Khalil Cherif^{3

4}, Antonio Rodero⁵, Dorota Anna Krawczyk⁶, Jauad El Kharraz⁷, Aniss Moumen⁸, Mourad Laqbaqbi⁹, Ahmed Fekri¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Applied Geology, Geomatics, and Environment, Ben M'sik Faculty of Sciences, Casablanca 20670, Morocco.
² Department of Geology Laboratory of GMSSURAC 45, Faculty of Sciences, Chouaib Doukkali University, El Jadida 24000, Morocco.
³ Laboratory of Chemistry Research Unit (CIQUP), Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal.
⁴ Institute for Systems and Robotics, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, 1649-004 Lisbon, Portugal.
⁵ School of Engineering Sciences of Belmez, University of Cordoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain.
⁶ Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Bialystok University of Technology, 15-351 Bialystok, Poland.
⁷ Global Change Unit, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
⁸ National School of Applied Sciences of Kenitra, University of Ibn Tofail, Kenitra 14000, Morocco.
⁹ Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Process Engineering, Multidisciplinary Faculty Of Sidi Kacem, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra 14000, Morocco.

Abstract

The spread of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) levied on the Moroccan authorities to increase their mask production capacity, which reached up to 12 million facemask units produced per day. This increase in personal protective equipment (PPE) production and consumption is an efficient tool to address the spread of COVID-19. However, this results in more plastic and microplastic debris being added into the land and marine environments, which will harm the ecosystem, wildlife, and public health. Such a situation needs deep individual behavior observation and tracking, as well as an assessment of the potential environmental impact of this new type of waste. For this reason, we assessed the Moroccan population's behavior regarding the use and disposal of facemasks and gloves. An exploratory survey was prepared and shared via social media and email with the population of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra and Casablanca-Settat regions. Additionally, we calculated the estimated number and weight of daily and weekly PPE used and generated by the studied regions. The survey showed that 70% of the respondents threw their discarded masks and gloves in house trash or trash bins after their first use, whereas nearly 30% of respondents admitted that they did not wear masks because they did not leave their homes during the lockdown, while from the 70% of facemask users, more than five million (equivalent to 40,000 kg) of facemasks would be generated and disposed of daily by the community of these regions, which presents 35% of the total engendered facemask waste in Morocco. Accordingly, the environment impact of facemasks showed that the greenhouse gas footprint is about 640 kT CO₂ eq./year for the whole of Morocco, while the energy footprint is around 60,000 GWh/year. Furthermore, an urgent multidisciplinary environmental assessment of the potential impact of PPE must be conducted among the 12 Moroccan regions. This study demonstrated the real impact of the COVID-19 PPE on human behavior and the environment and suggests a need for providing new didactic management of facemasks and gloves.

Keywords: COVID-19; Morocco; behavior; environmental impact; facemasks; plastic pollution; public health.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Communicable Disease Control
Ecosystem
Humans
Masks
Morocco / epidemiology
Pandemics*
Personal Protective Equipment
Plastics
SARS-CoV-2

Substances

Plastics