Prospect of microplastic pollution control under the "New normal" concept beyond COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to increasing demand for single-use plastic which aggravates the already existing plastic waste problem. Not only does the demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) increase, but also people shift their preference to online shopping and food delivery to comply with administrative policies for COVID-19 pandemic control. The used PPEs, packaging materials, and food containers may not be handled or recycled properly after their disposal. As a result, the mismanaged plastic waste is discharged into the environment and it may pose even greater risks after breaking into smaller fragments, which was regarded as the source of secondary microplastics (MPs, < 5 mm) or nanoplastics (NPs, < 1 μm). The main objective of this manuscript is to provide a review of the studies related to microplastic release due to pandemic-associated plastic waste. This study summarizes the limited work published on the ecotoxicological/toxicological effect of MPs/NPs released from PPE on aquatic organisms, soil organisms, as well as humans. Given the current status of research on MPs from COVID-related plastic waste, the immediate research directions needed on this topic were discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19; Microplastics; Pandemic waste; Single-use plastic.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

a) Increase in online shopping and takeaway services during the pandemic for selected countries/areas, and the respective amount of plastic waste generated. Data sourced from Parashar and Hait (2021) and Benson et al. (2021); b) Pandemic-related plastic waste generated globally, especially PPE and hospital waste. The figure is created using the data compiled from the work of Benson et al. (2021) and Peng et al. (2021).

Fig. 2

Generation, environmental processes, and ultimate fates of MP/NP during pandemic.