Too many people are failing to dispose of face masks responsibly, especially single use face masks, according to councillors.
They raised their concerns about the “proliferation of face masks chucked on the floor” at a “virtual” meeting yesterday (Tuesday 28 July).
And they were worried about the potential biological hazard resulting from the way that people dispose of personal protective equipment (PPE).
The concerns echoed recent advice on how face masks could be helpful in reducing the spread of the covid-19 coronavirus from Brighton and Hove’s director of public health Alistair Hill.
He said: “Guidance is that you must double bag PPE waste and set aside for at least 72 hours before adding to external bins.”
Green councillor Sarah Nield called for more promotion of reusable face coverings to try to discourage people from binning masks.
She told Brighton and Hove City Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board: “It is quite easy to buy one you can wash.
“This is going to go on for a long time and I dread to think about the amount of PPE going into the bin.”
Labour councillor Nick Childs said that many people had raised the subject of the “proliferation of face masks chucked on the floor”.
He said: “It’s something all of us have seen more and more – and I think it’s going to increase as mask wearing becomes obligatory.
“From a public health and communications point of view, is there anything we can do to encourage people to bin masks?
“We shouldn’t have to, because people should know that potentially biological hazardous material should not be thrown on the floor. It should be binned or put in a pocket.”
Alistair Hill said that his colleagues were promoting reusable face coverings and added: “We also need to accept they won’t be suitable for people in every circumstance but we should be looking at fabric face masks.”
Councillor Childs was also concerned about the number of bus passengers not wearing masks as people had raised the issue with him.
Council communications manager Clare Saul said that 85 per cent of passengers were wearing masks and Brighton and Hove Buses had done a lot of work communicating with customers about the issue.
She said that she did not like the idea of challenging others as they may be exempt from wearing them for one of a number of reasons.
She added: “We are encouraging people as much as we can to be compliant when it comes to wearing face coverings on buses.
“I don’t like the idea of people challenging whether others are exempt. It is difficult.
“Wear face coverings wherever you can. It is the clearest message.”
Mr Hill updated the board on the latest figures for people who had tested positive for the coronavirus in Brighton and Hove.
He said that there had been a slight increase but the numbers were still very low.
As of Monday (27 July), 807 people had tested positive for the virus, 18 of them within the previous seven days.
You only have to look at the beach to get an idea of the mindset regarding disposal of unwanted items.
As for the Council they cannot even keep up with collecting rubbish and recyclables that are left out by households.
Personally I think that The Green Party need to speak to Veolia about their systems in France.
I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when I visited the Hove recycling centre (“tip” to most of us). Someone was on the Old Shoreham Road corner to wave cars in, there was no queue in the approach road and I was able to access a Green Waste bay immediately. The same person waved me out onto the main road and the whole process only took a few minutes. The only issue was with someone trying to do a U-turn, which became a four point turn, because they couldn’t turn Right into the tip approach road because of the cycle lanes.
Leaving aside the litter, which is getting worse, I do wonder what trouble is in store with all the weeds growing in the gutters and on the pavements around Brighton and Hove. Some of the growth is quite impressive and I could imagine the roots eventually damaging the infrastructure. The waste foliage, etc., isn’t going to do the drains any favours either.
I see most people do not want to wear masks. They do not have any care for those at serious risk from the virus, and are very happy to spread the virus by not wearing masks in shops or crowded areas. This is the reality of most people evidently.
“As of Monday (27 July), 807 people had tested positive for the virus” in B&H since when exactly?