Sales of disposable face masks have boomed around the world as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The use of masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) has become compulsory in many settings. This protection, however, is impacting the environment rather negatively, since most of it is ending up in parks, beaches, waterways and oceans, adding to the plastic-waste crisis. In May 2020, a UK university had warned of generation of thousands of tonnes of plastic waste caused by the usage of disposable face masks during the pandemic (see Plasteurope.com of 21.05.2020).

Though recyclable masks are available, recycling them is not very straightforward. For starters, used masks – and gloves – cannot be collected and recycled via normal channels, as they can contaminate the rest of the waste and pose a risk of infection.

A few companies, however, are using their know-how and expertise to offer a safe way of collecting the masks and recycling them into other goods. One such firm is UK-based ReWorked (South Milford, North Yorkshire; www.reworked.com), which launched in October a recycling initiative called ‘Reclaim the Mask’. The company's aim is to collaborate with businesses that use large amounts of PPE.

ReWorked takes standard disposable masks, which are made of PP, and turns them into 100% recycled plastic boards, which are then made into a sanitiser bin for collecting Covid-waste PPE. The bin contains a 97% recycled LDPE liner, which allows double containment. ReWorked organises a regular waste pick-up and holds the boxes for a minimum 72-hour quarantine period. It then removes the bag liners and pre-shreds the contents. The box is recycled to a new packaging media and the liner is sent for processing into another batch of bags.

The shredded face masks and PPE material are combined with a mix of polymers from ocean cleans, verge cleans and food and cosmetic wastes, then bonded into a board at high temperature.

According to ReWorked, 129 bn face masks and 65 bn plastic gloves are being used worldwide every month, "with more disposable face masks in the ocean than jelly fish".

According to estimates by WWF Italia, every month, around 10m disposable masks, or over 40 t of plastic, end up in the environment if only 1% of all used masks are inproperly disposed. "A dangerous scenario that must be defused," says Donatella Bianchi, president of WWF Italy. This, however, also depends on how much the idea of disposing of personal protective equipment in a responsible manner appeals to customers.

Another UK firm – a start-up called MaskBros (London; www.maskbros.co.uk) – is also manufacturing what it claims is the world’s first fully recyclable disposable face mask. The "EcoBreathe" masks are made from non-woven, high-density PP, using patent-pending materials and manufacturing processes, according to MaskBros. The company says that its 100% PP masks are different to regular masks that have a variety of different types of plastics for each layer, as well as metal nose clips and elastic ear loops, which mean they cannot be recycled.

Its process for recycling is to provide a prepaid shipping label with an order, asking customers to return their used masks after a 72-hour quarantine period in a resealable plastic bag, inside the original box. The company ships the used masks to one of its recycling partners, which it said can provide a report confirming that 100% of the PPE has been recycled.

Specialist waste company TerraCycle (Trenton, New Jersey / USA; www.terracycle.com) has also introduced its "Zero Waste Box" for PPE recycling. The boxes are aimed at commercial use – and only for disposable surgical-type masks – but the PPE waste is aggregated, cleaned and melted into pellets, for subsequent use in a variety of new products.

Meanwhile in France, Plaxtil (Châtellerault / France; www.plaxtil.com), which was launched at the “K” 2019 (www.k-online.com) trade fair in Düsseldorf / Germany, has turned its expertise in producing a plastic material from recycled textiles, such as polyester, PA and cotton, into face-mask recycling.

Jean-Marc Neveu, managing director of both Plaxtil and French plastics specialist CDA Développement (Châtellerault; www.cda-developpement.fr), revealed in an interview with PlasticsLeMag magazine that the company has applied its “manufacturing secret” – namely the grinding and preparation of the textile to bond it to virgin polymer as well as the configuration of the injection moulding machines – to also recycle the PP masks. Plaxtil uses the polymer retrieved from the masks to make door openers, visor structures and other masks. Neveu said the company has already recycled more than 50,000 masks, producing between 2,000 and 3,000 recycled products since the end of June 2020.

To contain the contaminated waste, Plaxtil has about 30 collection points, all equipped with a sealing system. Once delivered, and after quarantining, the masks are put through a disinfection tunnel where they are decontaminated by a very short-wavelength ultraviolet light.

Neveu said his company has been overwhelmed by the demand but stressed that it has absolutely no intention of recycling masks from all over the world, nor those from regions other than its own (central-west France). “On the other hand, we are ready to export our method on the condition that it is implemented within the framework of a local circular economy,” he said.

At the moment, there appears to be few recycling initiatives for the face masks used to protect against Covid-19. Many more will be needed if the enormous amounts of PPE waste are to be diverted from the environment.