Greenpeace PH renews call to properly dispose of face masks, face shields

MANILA—An environmental group on Friday urged the public to discard used face masks, face shields and other medical waste properly to prevent the risks of COVID-19 transmission.

Marian Ledesma, zero-waste campaigner at Greenpeace Philippines, reiterated that households should isolate medical waste for 3 days and put it in a different plastic bag.

"I-isolate muna 'yong PPEs (personal protective equipment) bago mapupunta for segregation, dahil it can be a carrier of the virus, " Ledesma said, as she raised concern that disposable masks not discarded correctly have been turning up in the ocean.

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The pandemic has produced an estimated 280 metric tons of infectious waste in a month last year, she said.