medical surgical mask floating underwater sea trash.
Disposable face masks need to be recycled for the sake of the environment. (Credit: Getty)

Face masks are still an essential part of everyday life when it comes to the ongoing fight against Covid-19.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) continue to advise that ‘the general public should wear a mask in indoor or outdoor settings where physical distancing of at least one metre cannot be maintained’ and it is still compulsory under UK law to wear a face covering in various settings including inside shops and on public transport.

While non-medical masks made of fabric can be washed at 60 degrees and re-used, medical masks cannot and the unfortunate side effect of their use has been a staggering increase in plastic waste.

Researchers from Denmark found that we are throwing away 129 billion plastic face masks around the globe every month – the equivalent of three million masks every single minute of the day.

This will have a dangerous impact on the environment, but luckily work is being done to try and combat the problem.

Young Woman Removing Protective Face Mask, Walking In Nature
Fabric face masks are a more environmentally friendly option (Picture: Getty)

Can you recycle single-use face masks?

You cannot recycle single-use face masks at home in your household recycling bin.

Christie Raptaki, Founder and Director of Roadfill Limited, confirmed to ‘Face masks cannot go into general waste or recycling waste – it should be in an unspecified bin, however, these aren’t provided outdoors for the general public to easily use and access despite being in a pandemic for over a year. 

‘We all need to be alert on how we dispose of face masks and other PPE equipment. These cannot go to general waste and are often left on the streets. Right now what the public can do as per safely disposing of the masks is unfortunately very limited.’

However, there are some alternatives.

For example, Wilko has recently launched an in-store mask recycling scheme that will allow customers to safely drop off their used disposable face masks to be recycled.

Wilko Face Mask recycling scheme
Wilko haved teamed up with ReWorked to try and reduce the number of disposable face masks that end up in landfill. (Credit: Wilko)

The chain has partnered with recycling specialists ReWorked, Metrisk Ltd and Scan2Recycle to provide special collection bins for customers to safely drop off their used single-use face masks.

Once the bins are full, they will be safely taken away so that the masks can be shredded down into raw materials, which can then be sustainably refashioned into products ranging from other safety materials, to building materials and even quality, durable public space furniture.

The new scheme is live across 150 of Wilko’s UK stores and aims to tackle the increasing volume of PPE littering our streets.

And then of course, you can simply opt to use reusable masks.

If you do go down this route, it’s easy to make your own covering from a whole range of materials, including an old T-shirt, a bandana or even a pair of socks – and always remember to wash your hands before putting a mask on and after taking it off.

Woman putting on neck gaiter in countryside
Some people opt for snoods, but a tight-fitting covering is advised (Picture: Getty)

Why is it so hard to recycle disposable face masks?

Mbongeni Dube, Co-Founder of Reduce My Footprint explained to the nuances behind why disposable face masks are not recyclable.

He explained: ‘Masks contain different types of plastic for each layer i.e fossil fuel derivative polypropene, metal nose clips and elastic ear loops making them difficult to recycle via traditional routes and without considerable human intervention.

‘Such interventions are currently impractical as it makes the mask a vehicle to spread Covid-19 by placing staff working to collect and process recycling at heightened risks of contracting the virus.

‘Disposable masks marketed as recyclable alternatives cannot be recycled due to the sheer quantity of disposable masks in circulation that makes it difficult to disseminate between recyclable and non-recyclable alternatives without considerable human intervention.’

He, like other experts, urges people to consider environmentally friendly alternatives, saying ‘the use of washable facemasks has the key environmental benefits of reducing marine plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by lowering the circulation of disposable face masks.’

Can you reuse disposable face masks?

The short answer is no, you should not reuse disposal face masks as these are only designed to be worn once.

The World Health Organization says of the disposable masks: ‘Replace the mask with a new one as soon as it is damp and do not reuse single-use masks.’

Surgical N95 masks are also designed to be disposable, although there has been some debate over whether they can be cleaned and reused.

Christie Raptaki is the Founder and Director of Roadfill Limited.

Mbongeni Dube is the Co-Founder of Reduce My Footprint.

MORE : How to properly wash your reusable fabric face mask and how often you need to do it

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