Coronavirus Waste and Design

During the pandemic, people all over the world started to wear surgical face masks as daily precautions to protect themselves in public. Due to safety measures, these masks are manufactured by non-woven fabrics made from plastics like polypropylene to filter and protect. They are strongly advised to be disposed of after 4-8 hours of wearing.See: Thomasnet, How Surgical Masks are Made In Hong Kong (and elsewhere) this has resulted in beaches and hills being polluted by discarded face masks on a surprisingly large scale.Green Queen/Sally Ho, Face Masks Polluting Hong Kong Beaches & Hills Since Coronavirus The Hong Kong-based non-governmental organization OceansAsia found around 70 masks on a 100-metre stretch of beach at its research site on the Soko Islands, a remote location located southwest of Lantau Island, only six weeks after Hong Kong’s population had been introduced to regular mask wearing. Face masks left as marine debris can be mistaken for food by marine animals such as turtles and dolphins, and can block their digestive tracts if eaten, eventually killing them.See: Green Queen/ Sally Ho, Plastic Pollution: OceansAsia Founder Says Public Should Phase-Out Single-Use Masks Where Possible

For obvious hygienic reasons it is not easy to recycle disposable face masks. Yet, South Korean artist Kim Ha-neul came up with an innovative solution in 2020: upcycling surgical masks into colorful plastic stools. For one such piece of furniture he needs 1,500 disposable face masks; 50 to form one leg, and another 750 for the seat. He received his first batches from friends, and later through collection boxes at his school, Kaywon University of Art and Design in Uiwang city, south of Seoul.See: dezeen, Haneul Kim fashions plastic stool from 1,500 discarded surgical masks In addition, he also received defective samples from a factory. Removing elastic bands and wires, he uses a heat gun to melt the masks in a mold.Reuters/ Minwoo Park, The face-mask seat: a South Korean student's attempt to recycle in COVID times https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-southkorea-mask-ch-idUSKBN28K0AC)