MIRI: Miri Mayor Adam Yii has advised Mirians, to show their concern for the environment by disposing of their face masks properly.
He said they should cut off the strings before throwing away their masks in trash bins or waste baskets.
“Never throw them on the ground and don’t throw them outside where they can be blown away by the wind,” he added.
Yii expressed his concern over the indiscriminate disposal of used face masks at public places including food outlets, roads and residential areas in the city.
Apart from being an eyesore, theses masks, he pointed out, could also transmit the Covid-19 virus.
“With Miri City close to the sea, the used face masks could become an environmental threat and endanger the lives of other living beings in the environment we are now sharing,” he added.
Due to the on-going Covid-19 pandemic, the compulsory wearing of face masks is now the norm globally. As a result, the disposal of single-use face masks is inevitable.
A study has revealed that at least 100 billion face masks are discarded each month globally.
The improper disposal of used face masks is becoming a cause of concern as they pose a real threat to wildlife, including sea life.
According to The Royal Society For the Prevention of Cruelty To Animals (RSPCA) in the United Kingdom, it has dealt with 900 heart-breaking incidents of animals caught in litter since the start of the lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic. These included animals tangled in face masks.
