Fifty million disposable masks are used every week in France.
And after?
Afterwards, they must end up in the trash, with the household garbage.
Barbara Pompili, the Minister for the Ecological Transition, took the metro on Monday to support this simple message.
“Everyone has seen masks hanging around on the ground, in the gutter.
They obviously cause pollution since they are made of plastic and take a long time to degrade.
In addition, we are not always aware of it, but for the cleaning professionals who collect them, these masks thrown in the middle of the street and potentially contaminated involve risks, ”insists the number three of the government in front of a poster of 4 x 3 which recalls these dangers.
"Nothing on the floor, everything in the trash"
This “second wave of posters” - the same was initiated in the spring - will last until the end of December: 2,500 posters in Ile-de-France, 150 posters in stations in the region, 250 in the Paris metro.
"Nothing on the ground and everything in the normal trash", insists Jean-François Molle, president of the association Gestes clean which steers this communication with the eco-organization Citeo and the Association of mayors of France.
A mask protects our health.
And when it is used, it is in the trash that it is thrown away.
To protect the environment.
To protect cleaners.
To protect us all.
⚠️ The mask does not go in the recycling bin.
Let's share this post 🔁 pic.twitter.com/b0YLQT3sFO
- Ministry of Ecology (@Ecologie_Gouv) November 16, 2020
“French people in good faith imagine that since these masks are made of plastic, that they must be thrown in the yellow bin.
This completely seizes up the machine, leading to rejection of sorting and risks of contamination, ”emphasizes Barbara Pompili.
The UFC-Que Choisir published a study Tuesday according to which single-use masks would remain effective after ten washes.
The health authorities recalled in the wake that surgical masks are disposable.
Since the start of the crisis, researchers have also been working on technologies to sterilize masks in hospitals by washing them at 95 ° C, by irradiating them or treating them with steam or ethylene gas.
"We invite all those who can to use washable fabric masks, insisted on her side the Minister of the Environment.
We are studying the UFC test.
For now, the first feedback is interesting but we still have to wait.
“Beyond the filtering capacity of the virus, it is also necessary to ensure that after being put in the machine, the mask does not present a risk of inhaling the plastic fibers that compose it.
French companies start recycling
As for recycling, “French companies have embarked on the niche, and that's good.
Because we are faced with an increasingly large pile of waste ”, answers Barbara Pompili.
Plaxtill in Châtellerault (Vienne) or Elise in Lille (Nord) each offer solutions to transform these masks into plastic beads.
In France, the Canadian Terracycle also collects and recycles this very specific waste.
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But we will have to wait before setting up an EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) sector on the polluter-pays principle as there is for glass, packaging, etc.
It takes time to create a dedicated collection, to form the producers in association so that they finance everything.
The recent Circular Economy law provides for the creation of an REP for sanitary textiles in 2024. Perhaps the masks could be included.
Hopefully the epidemic will be behind us and that we will have less intensive use of these anti-Covid defenses by then.