BENGALURU : Thanks to necessary awareness, most people are wearing masks now, but the issue before the waste handling agencies is regarding categorisation of used and thrown masks and their disposal.
Due to rising awareness on Covid-appropriate behaviour, citizens and officials are using cloth, surgical and N-95 masks and some are even choosing to double mask. So, to address this disposal issue, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) solid waste management wing and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) have decided to join hands.
The KSPCB officials are now asking the urban local bodies to make citizens aware of how to dispose of the masks. That is not all, some garment factory employees have also taken up the task of educating people in their neighbourhood about disposal methods.
KSPCB member Secretary Srinivasulu told The New Indian Express that normally people throw the masks in the dustbins, but they should rather cut it up, then leave it untouched for 72 hours, and then throw it away. If it is a cloth mask, then it can be thrown in the dustbin like a handkerchief.
“If it is the mask of a Covid positive person, then it should be treated as a bio-medical waste and should be disposed with other medical waste scientifically,” he said. The two agencies are facing the problem of masks being recycled by waste collectors, which poses a bigger health hazard. “To address this issue, awareness at the ground-level is needed. It is also important to look at the cases rising from home isolation. This needs to be addressed,” he added.