Protector or polluter? Plastic makes a comeback with COVID-19

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Single-use plastic is protecting health workers from the deadly coronavirus. | A healthcare worker put on their personal protective equipment (PPE) before administering coronavirus tests to patients in Tampa, Florida. Image Credit: AFP

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But increase in single-use plastics will have long-term impacts on the environment. | Latex plastic gloves littering among other waste in Paris. Image Credit: AFP

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A vendor sells plastic face shield as protection against COVID-19 at a stall in Bangkok. Image Credit: AFP

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Just when you thought it was beyond the social and environmental pale, single use plastic is making a comeback, be it for throwaway facemasks, gloves or shrink-wrapped vegetables. Largely to blame is the coronavirus and the response to ward it off -- the masks, gloves and other plastic-based items, many of which are now ending up in our oceans -- already strewn with the slow-to-degrade detritus of a constantly growing industry. Image Credit: AFP

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A woman carries a baby under an umbrella with a plastic covering as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus at a market in Bangkok. Image Credit: AFP

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Municipal workers transferring waste from a canal into a garbage truck in Bangkok. Thailand's plastic waste has surged in step with home food deliveries during the coronavirus. Image Credit: AFP

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Even when it comes wrapped in plastic, a hug can convey tenderness and relief, love and devotion. Image Credit: AP

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High school senior students study with plastic partitions in a classroom in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province. Image Credit: AFP

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A red plastic bag containing material discarded by health workers who take samples to make COVID-19 tests in Bogota. Image Credit: AFP

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People exercise at Inspire South Bay Fitness behind plastic sheets in their workout pods while observing social distancing in Redondo Beach, California. Image Credit: AFP

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A vendor with a facemask and shield sells beverages behind a protective plastic screen. Image Credit: AFP

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A longtail macaque playing with a plastic bag in the town of Lopburi. Image Credit: AFP

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Iranian bakers behind a plastic sheet to protect their products at their bakery in Tehran. Image Credit: AFP

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Passengers travel on a train, usually packed during rush hour, with plastic sheets spacing out seats to ensure social distancing in Manila. Image Credit: AFP

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Municipal workers clearing plastic from a canal, as a resident watches, in Bangkok. Image Credit: AFP

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Vendors preparing food behind plastic screens at a night market. Image Credit: AFP

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A taxi driver wearing a face mask looks on from behind a plastic screen as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19 in Hanoi. Image Credit: AFP

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Rubbish, including plastic waste, is seen at the beach of the Costa del Este neighborhood in Panama City. Image Credit: AFP

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People eat in between plastic partitions set up in an effort to contain any spread of the COVID-19. Image Credit: AFP

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A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks through a disinfection cabin placed at the entrance of the Evropeyskiy shopping mall in Moscow. Image Credit: Reuters

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