Plastics and the coronavirus pandemic: a behavioral science perspective

Abstract

With the coronavirus outbreak, new and strengthened norms of plastic dependency emerged in the Middle East and North Africa region through the desperate demand for products like face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE), highlighting the tradeoffs between health and the environment. While the rise in demand has been considered as temporary, behavioral barriers and misperceptions might make these norms particularly sticky and hinder society's ability to transition to a circular economy. Fortunately, behavioral science offers valuable insights about why the current pandemic can actually be a catalyst to create new eco-conscious behaviors. As some behaviors are often strenuous to change and require enforcement through traditional policy solutions (e.g. regulations), behavioral science offers complementary tools that will make policies more effective. We have an opportunity to start thinking about ways to leverage behavioral insights to create new norms that promote a circular economy while ultimately ensuring proper adherence to hygiene practices to curb the spread of the virus.

Carbon footprint assessment of face masks in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: Based on different protective performance and applicable scenarios

“…One of the phenomena that can be observed in the COVID-19 pandemic is that the surge in demand for masks has led to a global shortage of supplies for both physical products and raw materials ( Carias et al, 2015 ), one important reason being the short life cycle and rapid replacement of disposable products. Reusable masks have been proposed as safe and eco-friendly alternatives to disposable ones due to their washable and reusable characteristics ( Ho et al, 2020 ; Makki et al, 2021 ). It should be noted, however, that the quality of reusable masks currently on the market varies and most are not yet ready for use in high-risk level scenarios, and in some cases the environmental performance of reusable masks is even worse than that of disposable masks.…”

Determination of Policies for Covid-19 PPE Using for URM Hospital Employees During The Pandemic

“…Surgical gloves were made of natural rubber, also a type of polymer. The literature highlights the importance of using these PPEs (De Sousa, 2020;Makki et al, 2020). The role of PPE in avoiding SARS-CoV-2 transmission was also suggested by another nosocomial study carried out in Hong Kong (Carducci et al, 2020).…”

Blue Skies, Blue Seas: Air Pollution, Marine Plastics, and Coastal Erosion in the Middle East and North Africa

“…The pandemic has massively increased the consumption of some plastic products including personal protective equipment and other single-use medical equipment along with packaging for food delivery services. In the Middle East and North Africa, countries like Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco mobilized industries to meet local and international demand for medical masks (Hamdallah 2020;Makki, Lamb, and Moukaddem 2020). Pharmacy customers in Lebanon were reportedly buying an average of seven masks per week after the Ministry of Health made it mandatory to wear one when leaving home (Houssari 2020).…”