environment
Why FFP2 masks don’t belong in the yellow bag
FFP2 masks have no place in nature.
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FFP2 masks may not exactly benefit the environment, but they are essential in the pandemic. Correct disposal is all the more important.
Whether in the supermarket parking lot or in the park: FFP2 masks repeatedly end up as a waste product in the middle of nature. In addition, “due to their complex manufacturing process, they have a worse CO2 balance than a simple medical disposable mask,” emphasizes Katarina Schickling, documentary filmmaker and author of “The 100 Best Eco Hacks” (Goldmann Verlag), in an interview with the news agency spot on news.
“During production, the plastic polypropylene is melted until it has roughly the consistency of liquid honey. Then it flows through tiny nozzles and forms a wafer-thin thread underneath. But it is nowhere near as thin as it should be later on. Well it has to be drawn even thinner. To do this, the melted thread is blown. This is why it is also called ‘meltblown’, that is, the meltblown process. These many operations naturally have an impact on the ecological balance, “explains Schickling.
The correct disposal of FFP2 masks is all the more important. Even if the material feels like a fleece, “it is made of plastic” and this “does not belong in nature,” says the environmental expert. “Quite apart from the environmental pollution and the fact that the masks may be contaminated with viruses – animals can get caught in the rubber bands,” warns the author.
FFP2 masks belong in the residual waste
It is also not clear to many that FFP2 masks do not belong in the plastic, but in the residual waste and are burned due to the possible viral load. That is “the only appropriate way of disposing of this form of hazardous waste. Quite apart from that: Just because something is made of plastic does not automatically mean that there is a recycling cycle for it. It works quite well with PET bottles, for example, with plastic films.” practically not at all. They’ll be burned even if we throw them in the yellow sack, “says Schickling.
In their opinion, there is still no more sustainable alternative to FFP2 masks. “Protection against the virus comes first,” she emphasizes. What else can you pay attention to in addition to correct disposal? “Buy masks that ideally are not individually welded in plastic.” Schickling himself also relies on the multiple use of a mask: “This is how I handle it: After wearing it, I hang up the mask to air out and don’t use it again until a week – then all the viruses are gone.”