MALAYSIA has no plans to introduce special methods to dispose of masks and wants the people to be more responsible in discarding them. 

Environment and Water Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said masks used by non-Covid-19 patients are not considered clinical waste, hence can be disposed of as normal waste. 

He reminded members of the public to not litter the environment with used masks.

“The ministry has no plans to prepare special bins for masks. 

“However, we would like to encourage users to trim the strands off the masks before disposing to avoid it being stuck to animals,” he told The Malaysian Insight in a brief text message. 

He was responding to queries on whether the ministry planned to set up special bins for used masks to address the rampant littering problem.

Taking note of litterbugs discarding the item everywhere, Tuan Ibrahim reminded them not to do so. 

“Because a lot of the masks used are disposable, all parties are urged to not throw them everywhere to preserve the environment,” he said.

Litterbugs discarding used masks on the streets and in nature have become a common sight since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

Penangite Vasugi Ramasamy recently drew attention to the problem after she took it upon herself to clear the streets littered with the essential protective item. 

The 36-year old clerk set out on her own personal gotong-royong trips on Sundays to rid the streets of used masks.

Sunway Medical Centre Medical director and consultant emergency physician, Dr Seow Vei Ken, said if used masks are not disposed of properly, they can increase the risk of indirect infection and viral transmissions to those exposed. 

“The chemicals contained in the masks are a potential threat to our environment. 

“Medical masks contain large amounts of polypropylene, which releases a lot of toxic substances during the process of degradation,” Seow said when asked if masks are considered as toxic waste. 

He concurred with Tuan Ibrahim that masks used by the public who are not Covid-19 positive can be discarded into normal bins. 

However, masks used by healthcare workers exposed to the risk of Covid-19 infection should be disposed of in designated clinical waste bins, he said. 

He added that the item cannot be recycled because the contaminated masks could potentially lead to indirect infection and viral transmissions if it entered the recycling system. 

Environmental organisation EcoKnights president Yasmin Rashid said there was a problem of “behaviour” and “attitude” towards waste disposal among the public. 

“In general, Malaysians are still struggling to be habitually responsible for their own waste,” she said. 

“Having adequate infrastructure facilities would be counter-productive if Malaysians don’t have the common sense to not be littering streets, roads or from their cars,” she added.

Environmental protection group Ocean Conservancy recently said an estimated 129 billion masks and 65 billion plastic gloves used as protection during the Covid-19 crisis are discarded every month worldwide, with a significant number of them ending up in oceans. 

Single-use surgical masks, N95 masks and gloves are made from synthetic, non-biodegradable materials and take hundreds of years to break down naturally, the report said.

Health Ministry has advised that used masks need to be folded, rolled and tied up with their own bands and thrown into a covered bin. – September 27, 2020.