PARIS — Researchers in Australia want to transform single-use Covid masks into road material. In the United States, the protective gear is recycled into benches. And in France, they are reborn as floor carpets for cars.
Used to curb the spread of Covid-19, masks are exacerbating another pandemic: plastic pollution.
Around 129 billion disposable masks are used every month around the world, according to the American Chemical Society.
Made out of polypropylene plastic material, elastic and metal, used masks are usually thrown out in garbage bins, destined for landfills, or incinerated.
They are also littering streets, rivers and oceans, harming wildlife.
But researc…
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