From the Biodiversity Foundation we join the campaign “Unforgettable memories. The mask is for you, not for nature”, which have been launched by the Ministries for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic and Consumer Challenge to promote, on the one hand, the use of masks on outings to the countryside, the forest or the beach; and, on the other, to warn about the impact of their abandonment or oblivion in natural environments. 

A common hygienic mask, abandoned in a natural environment, can take between 300 and 400 years to degrade. And, while it disappears, it can affect the flora and fauna of the environment, the water and the soils that make up that space in multiple ways; or even end up in the sea, joining the more than eight million tons of plastic waste that are dumped annually into the ocean.                      

The use of masks is essential to be able to face the health crisis caused by COVID-19, also while enjoying the spaces of high natural value that cover approximately 30% of the territory. However, the use of these protectors cannot aggravate a problem that affects natural environments on a global scale: the indiscriminate abandonment of waste, mostly of plastic origin, a phenomenon known as littering and which the Government of Spain already includes as one of the indicators to assess the environmental quality of the country.

In general, waste associated with protection against COVID-19 and, especially, masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment, must be deposited in the household waste fraction – the grey container for non-separable waste – and under no circumstances should it be abandoned on public roads or in a natural environment.

On the other hand, and in order to reduce the consumption of single-use products, the use of reusable hygienic masks (Specification UNE 0065) is encouraged for use by the population; and the use of single-use gloves is recommended only in specific circumstances, being generally preferable not to use them and to be rigorous with hygiene measures, such as washing hands frequently and avoiding touching the face.

On our website you have all the resources of the campaign to be able to disseminate it. If you share it on your Twitter profiles, remember to do so with the tag #RecuerdosInolvidables.