Southeast Asia finds ways to minimize waste during coronavirus outbreak

Wearing a face mask, sanitizing one’s hands, and using other protective equipment to stem the spread of the coronavirus have become essential for many people around the world.

But the amount of waste being generated from single-use items is posing a huge threat to the environment, already reeling from rising temperatures and overpopulation.

While it is important to take personal precautions to protect against infection, are there eco-friendlier ways to do so? 

In Southeast Asia, which witnessed a spike of new coronavirus cases this month, some resourceful citizens have improvised and come up with less carbon-intensive safety equipment and distribution.

Reusable eco-bag material used for protective suits in the Philippines

With hazmat suits and isolation gowns prioritized for hospital frontliners fighting COVID-19 in the Philippines, non-health care workers are exposed to the risk of contracting the virus.

These are the country’s cleaners, policemen, firefighters, and waste pickers whose work is all the more essential in an outbreak.

The Southeast Asian nation has one of the highest number of coronavirus cases in the region. As of Wednesday, April 22, it has seen over 6,710 cases and 446 deaths.

To do something for these unsung heroes, recycling advocate Crispian Lao rounded up his peers from the local recycling industry to identify a material that would protect responders while making the least impact on the planet.

They decided on nonwoven polypropylene – the same material used to make reusable shopping bags – and have set out to produce 10,000 non-medical grade coveralls, or jumpsuits, using the fabric by the end of April.

“In a period where health is the priority, it is still important to look at the materials being used for protecting ourselves, and see how they can be made reusable and recyclable,” said Lao, founder of the Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Sustainability, a multi-sectoral organization that aims to develop zero waste programs.

He told Eco-Business that although nonwoven polypropylene is made from thermoplastic polymer, it is recyclable and reusable, as the coveralls can be washed if they are used in minimal-risk areas.

The coveralls protect against potentially infected spray droplets and have some resistance to contaminants, but are not meant for responders who come into direct contact with infected patients, he added. 

Lao said it costs only US$7 to make one jumpsuit; other improvised non-medical suits that use more expensive cloth cost double the amount. 

As the government concentrates on providing more personal protective equipment to health care workers, Lao said the reusable coveralls that his team has created are the next-best option for other frontliners. 

Thai monks turn plastic bottles into face masks

In a Buddhist temple in Thailand, monks are using plastic bottles to create face masks.

Wat Chak Daeng temple had already been gaining fame for making monks’ robes out of plastic bottles since late 2019. 

Found in the south of Bangkok, the temple encourages its devotees to donate their polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, which are crushed and shredded by a machine owned by the monks.

Volunteer weavers at the temple turn them into polyester fibers that are blended with cotton to create a fabric that is then dyed saffron.

But as the pandemic threatens more lives – Thailand has had almost 3,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and almost 50 deaths as of Wednesday, according to a tally by the Johns Hopkins University – the Buddhist monks have started to turn the cloth into face masks instead.

Using one 400 milliliter plastic bottle for every mask, volunteers can sew 100 face masks per day. The masks include an extra filter layer sewn on the inner lining for extra protection.

“It is important to make eco-friendly masks at this time [to] reduce the use of medical masks, which are reserved for health care workers. The cloth can be washed and reused, so it saves money as well,” Phra Pipakorn Ariyo, who leads the environmental activities in the temple, told Eco-Business.

Ariyo said that masks are also meant to be talismans offering good luck to whoever uses them. The monks have written Buddhist prayers in the masks to bless the wearer with good health.

“We make these masks mainly for the poor, who are not aware of what is happening, and who have no money to protect themselves,” he said.

BYO disinfecting scheme in Singapore

When rubbing alcohol and disinfectants quickly disappeared from supermarket shelves around the region, a philanthropic organization stepped up to provide packaging-free sanitizers at no cost to residents in Singapore.

In March, Temasek Foundation offered half a liter of alcohol-free hand sanitizer to each of almost 1.5 million households through a bring-your-own-bottle (BYOB) scheme.

The foundation set up booths in designated shopping malls and public spaces, where residents lined up to fill empty shampoo bottles and other clean containers with 500 milliliters of sanitizer.

“This is part of a radical and comprehensive battle plan to enable our community to overcome COVID-19,” said Richard Magnus, chairman of Temasek Foundation Cares, in a statement.

“We are leaving no stone unturned and will continue to help build social resilience and instill public confidence during this uncertain period.”

As of Wednesday, there have been more than 10,000 confirmed cases in the city-state. – Rappler.com

This story was originally published on Eco-Business and republished with permission.