Questions for ‘Unmasking the pandemic’s pollution problem’
![a photo of a surgical mask on a sidewalk](https://www.snexplores.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/1030_pandemic_pollution_mask_feat-1030x580.jpg)
This surgical mask is just one of the many types of personal protective equipment, or PPE, that has begun turning up as litter since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Despite appearing to be made of paper, such masks contain some plastic, which will retard their breakdown in the environment.
Joana Prata/Univ. of Aveiro