Cargando…
The impact and effectiveness of the general public wearing masks to reduce the spread of pandemics in the UK: a multidisciplinary comparison of single-use masks versus reusable face masks
During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the UK government mandated the use of face masks in various public settings and recommended the use of reusable masks to combat shortages of medically graded single-use masks in healthcare. To assist decision-making on the choice of masks for future pandem...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
UCL Press
2021
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10208332/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37228803 http://dx.doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000022 |
_version_ | 1785046646496690176 |
---|---|
author | Allison, Ayşe Lisa Ambrose-Dempster, Esther Bawn, Maria Arredondo, Miguel Casas Chau, Charnett Chandler, Kimberley Dobrijevic, Dragana Aparasi, Teresa Domenech Hailes, Helen C. Lettieri, Paola Liu, Chao Medda, Francesca Michie, Susan Miodownik, Mark Munro, Beth Purkiss, Danielle Ward, John M. |
author_facet | Allison, Ayşe Lisa Ambrose-Dempster, Esther Bawn, Maria Arredondo, Miguel Casas Chau, Charnett Chandler, Kimberley Dobrijevic, Dragana Aparasi, Teresa Domenech Hailes, Helen C. Lettieri, Paola Liu, Chao Medda, Francesca Michie, Susan Miodownik, Mark Munro, Beth Purkiss, Danielle Ward, John M. |
author_sort | Allison, Ayşe Lisa |
collection | PubMed |
description | During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the UK government mandated the use of face masks in various public settings and recommended the use of reusable masks to combat shortages of medically graded single-use masks in healthcare. To assist decision-making on the choice of masks for future pandemics, where shortages may not be a contributing factor, the University College London (UCL) Plastic Waste Innovation Hub has carried out a multidisciplinary comparison between single-use and reusable masks based on their anatomy, standalone effectiveness, behavioural considerations, environmental impact and costs. Although current single-use masks have a higher standalone effectiveness against bacteria and viruses, studies show that reusable masks have adequate performance in slowing infection rates of respiratory viruses. Material flow analysis (MFA), life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost comparison show that reusable masks have a lower environmental and economic impact than single-use masks. If every person in the UK uses one single-use mask each day for a year, it will create a total of 124,000 tonnes of waste, 66,000 tonnes of which would be unrecyclable contaminated plastic waste (the masks), with the rest being the recyclable packaging typically used for transportation and distribution of masks. Using reusable masks creates >85% less waste, generates 3.5 times lower impact on climate change and incurs 3.7 times lower costs. Further behavioural research is necessary to understand the extent and current practices of mask use; and how these practices affect mask effectiveness in reducing infection rates. Wearing single-use masks may be preferred over reusable masks due to perceptions of increased hygiene and convenience. Understanding behaviour towards the regular machine-washing of reusable masks for their effective reuse is key to maximise their public health benefits and minimise environmental and economic costs. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-10208332 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | UCL Press |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-102083322023-05-24 The impact and effectiveness of the general public wearing masks to reduce the spread of pandemics in the UK: a multidisciplinary comparison of single-use masks versus reusable face masks Allison, Ayşe Lisa Ambrose-Dempster, Esther Bawn, Maria Arredondo, Miguel Casas Chau, Charnett Chandler, Kimberley Dobrijevic, Dragana Aparasi, Teresa Domenech Hailes, Helen C. Lettieri, Paola Liu, Chao Medda, Francesca Michie, Susan Miodownik, Mark Munro, Beth Purkiss, Danielle Ward, John M. UCL Open Environ Research Article During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the UK government mandated the use of face masks in various public settings and recommended the use of reusable masks to combat shortages of medically graded single-use masks in healthcare. To assist decision-making on the choice of masks for future pandemics, where shortages may not be a contributing factor, the University College London (UCL) Plastic Waste Innovation Hub has carried out a multidisciplinary comparison between single-use and reusable masks based on their anatomy, standalone effectiveness, behavioural considerations, environmental impact and costs. Although current single-use masks have a higher standalone effectiveness against bacteria and viruses, studies show that reusable masks have adequate performance in slowing infection rates of respiratory viruses. Material flow analysis (MFA), life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost comparison show that reusable masks have a lower environmental and economic impact than single-use masks. If every person in the UK uses one single-use mask each day for a year, it will create a total of 124,000 tonnes of waste, 66,000 tonnes of which would be unrecyclable contaminated plastic waste (the masks), with the rest being the recyclable packaging typically used for transportation and distribution of masks. Using reusable masks creates >85% less waste, generates 3.5 times lower impact on climate change and incurs 3.7 times lower costs. Further behavioural research is necessary to understand the extent and current practices of mask use; and how these practices affect mask effectiveness in reducing infection rates. Wearing single-use masks may be preferred over reusable masks due to perceptions of increased hygiene and convenience. Understanding behaviour towards the regular machine-washing of reusable masks for their effective reuse is key to maximise their public health benefits and minimise environmental and economic costs. UCL Press 2021-08-25 /pmc/articles/PMC10208332/ /pubmed/37228803 http://dx.doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000022 Text en © 2021 The Authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY) 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
spellingShingle | Research Article Allison, Ayşe Lisa Ambrose-Dempster, Esther Bawn, Maria Arredondo, Miguel Casas Chau, Charnett Chandler, Kimberley Dobrijevic, Dragana Aparasi, Teresa Domenech Hailes, Helen C. Lettieri, Paola Liu, Chao Medda, Francesca Michie, Susan Miodownik, Mark Munro, Beth Purkiss, Danielle Ward, John M. The impact and effectiveness of the general public wearing masks to reduce the spread of pandemics in the UK: a multidisciplinary comparison of single-use masks versus reusable face masks |
title | The impact and effectiveness of the general public wearing masks to reduce the spread of pandemics in the UK: a multidisciplinary comparison of single-use masks versus reusable face masks |
title_full | The impact and effectiveness of the general public wearing masks to reduce the spread of pandemics in the UK: a multidisciplinary comparison of single-use masks versus reusable face masks |
title_fullStr | The impact and effectiveness of the general public wearing masks to reduce the spread of pandemics in the UK: a multidisciplinary comparison of single-use masks versus reusable face masks |
title_full_unstemmed | The impact and effectiveness of the general public wearing masks to reduce the spread of pandemics in the UK: a multidisciplinary comparison of single-use masks versus reusable face masks |
title_short | The impact and effectiveness of the general public wearing masks to reduce the spread of pandemics in the UK: a multidisciplinary comparison of single-use masks versus reusable face masks |
title_sort | impact and effectiveness of the general public wearing masks to reduce the spread of pandemics in the uk: a multidisciplinary comparison of single-use masks versus reusable face masks |
topic | Research Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10208332/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37228803 http://dx.doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000022 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT allisonayselisa theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT ambrosedempsteresther theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT bawnmaria theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT arredondomiguelcasas theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT chaucharnett theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT chandlerkimberley theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT dobrijevicdragana theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT aparasiteresadomenech theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT haileshelenc theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT lettieripaola theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT liuchao theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT meddafrancesca theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT michiesusan theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT miodownikmark theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT munrobeth theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT purkissdanielle theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT wardjohnm theimpactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT allisonayselisa impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT ambrosedempsteresther impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT bawnmaria impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT arredondomiguelcasas impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT chaucharnett impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT chandlerkimberley impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT dobrijevicdragana impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT aparasiteresadomenech impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT haileshelenc impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT lettieripaola impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT liuchao impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT meddafrancesca impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT michiesusan impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT miodownikmark impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT munrobeth impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT purkissdanielle impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks AT wardjohnm impactandeffectivenessofthegeneralpublicwearingmaskstoreducethespreadofpandemicsintheukamultidisciplinarycomparisonofsingleusemasksversusreusablefacemasks |