JALAMA SUNSET STUDY ONE The pandemic has caused a massive demand for personal protective equipment such as masks and single-use plastic medical gloves. A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy estimated that 8 million tons of plastic waste from the pandemic had been produced by 193 countries. The study notes that large cities heavily impacted by COVID-19 have struggled to deal with all of the pandemic waste produced. The problem with gloves and masks goes beyond the unsightliness of masks and gloves littered on sidewalks and streets. Unfortunately, they are also making their way to the oceans. In 2020 a study reported in OceansAsia estimated the 1.56 million face masks had already polluted the sea. 

Peng, Y., Wu, P., Schartup, A. T. & Zhang, Y. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 118, e2111530118 (2021). https://www.pnas.org/content/118/47/e2111530118

T. P. Bondaroff, S. Cooke, Masks on the Beach: The Impact of COVID-19 on Marine Plastic Pollution(OceansAsia, 2020). https://oceansasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Marine-Plastic-Pollution-FINAL.pdf