Discarded “single use” face masks pose a massive environmental challenge.

Several studies have demonstrated the feasibility of recycling these plastic-rich products into a range of materials, including LEDs and cement additives.

But the extent to which private industries will incorporate sustainable changes remains to be seen.

One of the many fallouts from the COVID-19 pandemic was the sheer volume of plastic medical waste used by both health care professionals and everyday individuals.

In 2021, researchers found that of the 8 million tons of plastic waste created during the pandemic, most ended up in the ocean, with the United States and China being the main perpetrators.

Furthermore, additional data estimated over 1.5 billion face masks ended up in the ocean in 2020 alone, endangering both wildlife and marine ecosystems.

While some conscientious consumers hoped to avoid creating excess waste by donning cloth masks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has since proclaimed these are less effective at stopping the spread of COVID-19 compared with disposable options like N95 or KN95 respirators.

But these alternatives are expensive and can only be used a limited number of times. Cheaper, albeit just as short-lived options, like disposable polypropylene-based masks have thus become ubiquitous.

And pictures of these masks entrapping wildlife, swirling in waterways and peppering sidewalks all underscore the need for more efficient disposal routes for these plastic-heavy products.

On an individual level, several companies have taken the initiative to collect and recycle masks discarded in-home. Since masks cannot be recycled with traditional streams of plastic and metal, one organization based out of Trenton, N.J., TerraCycle, sells Zero Waste Boxes to customers who can then send back a full box of used personal protective equipment (PPE).

But legal restrictions preclude the company from collecting PPE from medical facilities, hospitals or doctor’s offices. After 72 hours, TerraCycle sorts the waste based on material and sends it to a third party where nonwoven plastics become plastic pellets and metals are made into bar stock or metal sheeting.

“The polypropylene-dominant mixture from the face mask is densified into a crumb-like raw material that’s used in plastic lumber and composite decking applications,” TerraCycle’s website reads, while “the elastane or rubber band portion is ground into a fine mesh regrind and mixed with recycled plastics as an additive to provide flexibility and malleability to products.”

Additional organizations operate similar systems around the world.

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.

Not only are masks hazardous to animal life, but their plastic makeup means they cannot easily break down in the natural environment and, if littered, eventually become microplastics and pose an additional set of problems.

When disposed of in the garbage, the masks can take up limited landfill space and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions or be incinerated, compounding the release of emissions and negatively impacting human health.

In addition to personal recycling of discarded PPE, large-scale solutions can tackle the hefty ramifications of irresponsible disposal and the high volume of waste created by the health care industry.

In the 2021 report, authors found waste generated by hospitals “dwarfs the contribution from personal protection equipment,” while the industry as a whole has come under fire as it accounts for around 8.5 percent of the country’s total carbon emissions.

In light of these figures, scientists have stepped up to design sustainable ways of upcycling used PPE, particularly masks.

Researchers in Australia met the challenge by assessing the feasibility of transforming masks into roadways, and found the product could be used to create two of the four layers typically used in the construction process.

An additional study published in April 2022 took PPE waste, including masks, and showed the materials could be used to create white LEDs.

Scientists have also assessed the effects of treated face mask chips in granular soil, used most commonly in backfill, railways and construction, and found it to be a suitable ingredient.

Several proof-of-concept investigations have looked into the utilization of discarded facemasks as concrete additives to design greener, more efficient buildings and structures.

Xianming Shi, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Washington State University, co-authored one of these papers.

“Oftentimes, waste is just misplaced resources,” Shi said in an interview with Changing America, adding that upcycling these materials can help unlock their potential.

In lab experiments, Shi and colleagues pretreated microfibers from face masks in a novel nano-material graphene oxide solution. Treated mask fibers were then added to cement paste constituting a 0.1 vol% for a water/cement ratio of 0.4.

After testing the final product for durability and strength, Shi says the mixture actually benefited the concrete.

The concrete’s resistance to damage was improved by 20 percent after the graphene oxide material was incorporated. In a typical coastal environment like Seattle, ordinary cement used in a pier would last for approximately 30 or 40 years, Shi said.

“But if we add this graphene oxide treated microfiber, based on the lab testing results, you’re bumping that up to 55 years, so that’s a 63 percent increase in service life,” he said. This is due in large part to the synergistic effect between the treatment and mask microfibers.

If this process were to be implemented on a larger scale, masks would first need to be sterilized to kill any microbes or viruses, authors wrote. But one benefit to this solution is that any heavy metals or contaminants present in the masks would be concrete bound or “chemically locked up,” Shi said.

“Concrete is a really good host material. Anything you put in … won’t leach out at any significant rate.”

Concrete also happens to be the second most used material in the world among humans behind water. Each person uses about 3 tons of concrete annually, thanks to roads, buildings, bridges and other infrastructure.

Even though the process is technically feasible, “how to incentivize the private sector to invest in such technologies is beyond our control,” Shi explained.

The passage of President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which provides $550 billion in new infrastructure funding, might provide some opportunities. The law specifically calls for increased action ensuring “energy efficiency of the production of paving materials and the ability of paving materials to enhance the environment and promote sustainability.”

Cement is an ingredient of concrete, widely used for road construction and paving. A report from the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act notes “the legislation authorizes $304 billion to the Highway Trust Fund for roads and bridges over five years with approximately $100 billion in new spending for roadways specifically.”

Changing America has reached out to the ACPA to ask if it plans to incorporate any sustainable solutions at a national level in the wake of the legislation’s passage.

For Shi, he hopes the law will spur agencies into action.

“Without sufficient funding, usually there’s plenty of deferred maintenance. There’s no room for innovation,” he said. “But with the increased investment, I think it’s definitely going to inspire both the public sector and the private sector to look for more long term solutions and more sustainable solutions.”

Shi also noted that even though the process used in his team’s lab experiments was innovative, he doesn’t plan to file a patent for it.

“The whole purpose is to demonstrate the beneficial use of masks and inspire people to collect the masks knowing that it could be turned into a valuable resource,” he said.

Even without using the new nano-material, significant improvements in cement tensile strength can be achieved just by grinding down masks into microfiber, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.

Two oak trees stand on a rain-soaked, burned-over hillside following the Woolsey Fire in Agoura Hills, California, in November 2018. (AP Photo/John Antczak) The Pacific Northwest has endured multiple extreme heat waves between the current summer season and last year's that are uncharacteristic of the normal climate in the region. These abnormal weather events don't just turn deadly or destroy infrastructure like 2021's historic heat wave did but also can be detrimental to trees that are needed f

Teachers are leaving the profession like never before, leaving many school districts in dire need of educators to fill those roles.

Charlie Crist: Volusia County does not need new I-95 interchange near Spruce Creek Preserve

STORY: Footage showed the bear wobbling and whining as she sat belly-up in the back of a pick-up truck, after people rescued the visibly-debilitated animal from the forest.Mad honey, or "deli bal" in Turkish, is a type of rhododendron honey that can have hallucinogenic effects.The bear was brought to a vet, where she was receiving treatment and would likely be released into the wild in the coming days, local authorities said, adding that she was in good condition.

They were found in an apartment complex pond, officials said.

Florida Python Challenge is a 10-day event in which pro & novice snake hunters head into the field to capture as many pythons as possible, for a prize

The source of the River Thames has dried up further downstream than ever before, as England looks set to enter a drought that some experts say the country is unprepared for. Britain's Met Office said this July was the driest for England since 1935 with average rainfall, at 23.1 millimetres (0.9 inches), just 35% of the average for the month. "The Thames would normally be at its source - and there's a nice pub next to it - would be about 15 kilometres back upstream," Alisdair Naulls, an engagement officer at the Rivers Trust, told Reuters while standing in a small section of the Thames in Cricklade, about 80 km west of London.

The attractions of electric vehicles have been magnetic in 2022. Now, there is legislation headed toward the home stretch that will give EVs not only new legitimacy in the eyes of the auto market, but potentially lucrative perks to automakers and consumers who decide to bet on electric vehicles as their chosen mode of transportation -- and investment. "This climate spending includes $60 billion for solar panel and wind turbine manufacturing (and $30 billion in credits for new projects), $60 billion for disadvantaged communities that bear the brunt of climate impacts, $27 billion for clean tech R&D, $20 billion to reduce agricultural emissions, $5 billion for forest conservation, $4 billion for drought funding in Western states, new battery manufacturing credits and many more climate-related priorities," EV site Elektrek reports.

“That bear had to have been to prison.”

Newsom unveils plan to store more water as California gets drier

Chlorine exposure appears to be cause of death of animals at UC Davis research center

Poland's prime minister said Friday that “huge amounts of chemical waste” were probably dumped intentionally into the Oder River, which runs along the border with Germany, causing environmental damage so severe it will take the river years to recover. Tons of dead fish have been seen floating or washed ashore on the Oder's banks over the past two weeks but the issue only erupted into a major scandal late this week. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, whose government is under pressure for its handling of what appears to be a major environmental catastrophe, vowed that Polish authorities would hold the perpetrators to account.

The blooms are cropping up regularly, likely from warming waters and intensifying storms.

You’re much more likely to encounter copperheads in the Triangle, but rattlesnakes border us on three sides. Here’s what to know about them.

In coastal Morro Bay, Calif., three iconic but defunct smokestacks are coming down. A lithium battery storage project is planned as state transitions to renewable energy.

The agreement requires Boeing to monitor stormwater runoff for 195 pollutants after the company completes a cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Lab.

A chemical leak late Thursday evening caused the closure of a major freeway in California, forcing officials to evacuate about 170 residences from within a half-mile radius of the leak. John Crater, the chief of the Riverside County Fire Department, said at a press conference on Friday that all homes and businesses were evacuated. The…

A study says that as the Earth warms, a California flood that would swamp Los Angeles, displace millions and cause historic damage gets more likely.

Ten-day python roundup will help with wildlife emergency, officials hope: Fur-bearing animals are down 90% in the 'Glades, some estimate

The stock market sell-off has led to declining prices in excellent and poor companies alike. When uncertainty is high, it can be comforting to fall back on fundamentals. One tried and true long-term strategy is to invest in Dividend Aristocrats, which are S&P 500 components that have paid and raised their dividends for at least 25 consecutive years.