UIWANG, South Korea — How many disposable masks does it take to make a stool?
Kim Ha-neul knows it takes 1,500.
Bothered by the waste caused by disposable face masks, many of which are made of polypropylene, the South Korean furniture design student has come up with an eco-friendly solution, melting them to make stools he calls “Stack and Stack.”
“Plastic is recyclable, so why don’t we recycle face masks, which are made of plastic?” the 23-year-old said.
In June, Kim set up a mask collection box at his school, the Kaywon University of Art and Design in Uiwang City, south of Seoul. He has since gathered 10,000 used masks, and has received more than a tonne of defective o…
Keep on reading: The face mask seat: a South Korea student’s bid to recycle in COVID times