What Lies Beneath the Mask

By RAYMOND G. TAYO
Teacher III
Taguibo Elementary School

A surgical mask can be used to protect our mouth and nose from the virus or commonly known as Covid-19. However, what could happen if we dispose them improperly?

Pollution is the act of polluting by environmental contamination with man-made waste. However, a question pops out and asks that what if the Covid-19 could also cause pollution?

Because of this current pandemic, people had been wearing face masks and face shields whenever they go outside. However, you could see that these masks are thrown everywhere and that it could result to pollution.

The improper disposal of masks is not the only thing that can cause pollution to our environment. Cremating bodies that are infected with Covid-19 can also cause pollution.

In some countries, people burn down the trashes that are used in this pandemic as fossil fuel. People think it is a great idea to burn trash for energy however it’s not.

The burning of trash and cremating of bodies cannot only result to pollution but, it can also result to the thinning of the ozone layer AGAIN. And if the ozone layer will be thin again, we will be experiencing more climate change problems in our planet.

There are many ways to reduce these problems. First is to properly dispose the face masks you used. You could also dispose the masks that you see in your surroundings.

It is also advisable to avoid burning any masks or trash to avoid air pollution and global warming.

It is also great that there was a temporary lockdown. Because of this, you can only ride cars a few times and it can avoid emitting smoke.

If we were to improperly dispose and burn our masks, face shields or even trash, we could be dealing with much more problems rather than the Covid-19. We need to stop slacking off and make a move while we are in a pandemic! ###