Snippets from the Age of COVID-19: June 9, 2020.

With all the fuss made about obtaining masks and gloves to protect oneself from the COVID-19 virus, one would think that people would have the smarts to dispose of these used items appropriately. Yet, I have seen used masks and gloves carelessly discarded in the parking lots of grocery stores and other places. This is the new eco-problem and health hazard.

In a recent article by CBC News, there have been problems created by clueless people flushing masks and gloves down the toilet. This creates problems at the sewage treatment plants, damaging their equipment, and boosting the costs of isolating this material.

It was said that masks are made with plastic fibers that don't break down quickly. This makes the extraction of these materials slow and costly. It was said that a Canadian company is developing a bio-degradable mask. That is good news indeed!

We must educate the public that masks and gloves do not dissolve almost instantaneously like cotton candy. They are a bio-hazard of which cavalier attitudes can put lives in jeopardy.