ABSTRACT
Single-use plastic (SUP) products are designed to be used only once or for a short time before being discarded. This research focused on personal protective equipment (PPE) made of SUP-based products (face masks, gloves, etc.) and SUP packaging during the COVID-19 era. One of the most obvious effects of the pandemic has been the increase in the use of PPE not only by healthcare professionals but also by the general public. As part of the fight against the pandemic, quarantines were started in many countries;people had to work from home, and shops were closed. Online shopping became more common. The increase in e-commerce also increased the use of SUP packaging. Here, we present an estimation of the number of daily single-use face masks and the amount of medical waste, considering the current COVID-19 cases and population. As a result of our calculations, we show that while the daily amount of medical waste is greatest in the European region, the number of single-use face masks used each day is highest in Asia. These results are associated with the number of COVID-19 cases and population data in the regions. Medical waste and number of patients were directly proportional, as were population and face mask waste. We are faced with plastic pollution that is becoming more difficult to control each day. In the current circumstances, within the scope of combating the possible plastic pandemic, we should prevent the shift of beneficial plastic from a preservative to a pollutant by prioritizing individual, societal, and institutional reforms to minimize plastic pollution. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
ABSTRACT
RATIONALE: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2, has been affecting the world since the end of 2019. Turkey is severely affected with the first case being reported on March 11th 2020. Several studies suggest an association between air pollution and the spread of the infection, and that ambient particulate matters (PM) can present a potential, as virus carriers. The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on ambient PM. METHODS: Ambient PM samples in various size ranges were collected from 13 sites including urban, urban background locations and hospital gardens in 10 cities including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Zonguldak, Tekirdag, Eskisehir, Bolu, Bursa, Konya, and Antalya across Turkey, between 13th of May and 14th of June, 2020. The nucleocapsid (N) 1 gene and RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) gene expressions were analyzed in PM samples for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 by applying quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and three dimensional (3D)-digital PCR methods. RESULTS: A total of 155 daily samples (Total Suspended Particulate [TSP], n=80;PM2.5, n=33;PM2.5-10, n=23;PM10, n=19;and 6 size segregated, n=48) were collected using various samplers in the each city. According to RT-PCR and 3D-RT-PCR analysis, dual RdRP and N1 gene positivity were detected in 20 of the samples (9.8 %). The highest percentage of virus detection on PM samples was from hospital gardens in Tekirda Zonguldak, and Istanbul, especially in PM2.5 mode. Samples collected from two urban sites, Ankara and Eskisehir, were also positive. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may be transported by ambient particles, especially at sites close to the infection hot-spots such as hospital gardens. Whether this has an impact on the spread of the virus infection remains to be determined.