Experts call for proper ways to dispose face masks

By Bisola Adeyemo

Abias Maniragaba, a Lecturer at the University of Lay Adventists of Kigali, Malawi said used face masks should be sorted from other waste because they are considered to be hazardous to human health and environmental threat.

The lecturer who disclosed this in a document said a huge chunk of face masks if not disposed of properly, potentially posing a health and environmental threat.

“Some people treat face mask waste like any other garbage,” Maniragaba said.

While suggesting wayfoward, Maniragaba said homes should have a specific bag for face masks instead of mixing them with other waste, the news time reports.

“Garbage collectors must also carry them separately from other waste,” he added, calling for a nationwide campaign to sensitise people on waste sorting.

According to the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) guidelines, solid waste must be sorted, collected, and transported to appropriate destinations.

“It’s prohibited to dispose of anywhere, burn or mix with other municipal solid waste the used face masks,” reads part of the guidelines.

According to Paulin Buregeya, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Compagnie pour l’Environnement et Développement au Rwanda (COPED) Ltd, they are currently carrying out sensitisation on how to sort and dispose of used face masks, adding that they provide them with materials like bags and a sorting guiding document to ease their work.

“When we collect used face masks, we separate them from other wastes. We do not recycle them; we dispose of them as waste. Masks are among wastes that are too dangerous like medical waste because we suspect people who have used them to have respiratory diseases or viruses,” he said.

He says it is safer to mix face mask waste with other medical waste.

“If they can put them in their own sacks, that will be very good because we are looking forward to working with pharmacies where people can freely bring them and we can collect them,” he said.

In addition, the waste must not be within children’s reach and must be conserved well until it is transported to the sellers of those face masks, at any healthcare centre or pharmacy.