'Dispose Of Face Masks Responsibly' Say Councillors

Too many people are failing to dispose of face masks responsibly, especially single use face masks, according to councillors.

They raised their concerns about the “proliferation of face masks chucked on the floor” at a “virtual” meeting yesterday (Tuesday 28 July).

And they were worried about the potential biological hazard resulting from the way that people dispose of personal protective equipment (PPE).

The concerns echoed recent advice on how face masks could be helpful in reducing the spread of the covid-19 coronavirus from Brighton and Hove’s director of public health Alistair Hill.

He said:

“Guidance is that you must double bag PPE waste and set aside for at least 72 hours before adding to external bins.”

Green councillor Sarah Nield called for more promotion of reusable face coverings to try to discourage people from binning masks.

She told Brighton and Hove City Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board:

“It is quite easy to buy one you can wash.

“This is going to go on for a long time and I dread to think about the amount of PPE going into the bin.”

Labour councillor Nick Childs said that many people had raised the subject of the “proliferation of face masks chucked on the floor”.

He said:

“It’s something all of us have seen more and more – and I think it’s going to increase as mask wearing becomes obligatory.

“From a public health and communications point of view, is there anything we can do to encourage people to bin masks?

“We shouldn’t have to, because people should know that potentially biological hazardous material should not be thrown on the floor. It should be binned or put in a pocket.”

Alistair Hill said that his colleagues were promoting reusable face coverings and added:

“We also need to accept they won’t be suitable for people in every circumstance but we should be looking at fabric face masks.”

Councillor Childs was also concerned about the number of bus passengers not wearing masks as people had raised the issue with him.

Council communications manager Clare Saul said that 85 per cent of passengers were wearing masks and Brighton and Hove Buses had done a lot of work communicating with customers about the issue.

She said that she did not like the idea of challenging others as they may be exempt from wearing them for one of a number of reasons.

She added:

“We are encouraging people as much as we can to be compliant when it comes to wearing face coverings on buses.

“I don’t like the idea of people challenging whether others are exempt. It is difficult.

“Wear face coverings wherever you can. It is the clearest message.”

Mr Hill updated the board on the latest figures for people who had tested positive for the coronavirus in Brighton and Hove.

He said that there had been a slight increase but the numbers were still very low.

As of Monday (27 July), 807 people had tested positive for the virus, 18 of them within the previous seven days.

By Sarah Booker Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter.