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Fez – A recent study found alarming rates of plastic pollution caused by COVID-related face masks along Moroccan Mediterranean shores. Compared to other similar studies conducted on a global level, the data places Moroccan Mediterranean shores among the world’s beaches most polluted by face masks.
The study was carried out by Abdelmalek Essaadi University researchers who frequently visited the selected coastal sites for a period of five months, starting February through June of 2021. Relying on GPS tracking, the researchers ensured that the same sample beaches were properly surveyed and tracked.
The survey focused on northern Moroccan beaches, finding worrying plastic pollution levels recorded along the five selected beaches due to discarded COVID-19 face masks.
Along the five beaches, a total of 321 face masks were recorded during the study. Martil beach ranked worst for offenders with 105 face masks found, Fnideq came in second with 99 reported face masks, and M’diq was third-worst with 54 face masks recorded.
Meanwhile, distinct beaches known to have little human activity recorded considerably lower numbers. Azla and Kaa Asrasse, resort beaches located east of Tetouan, respectively noted 39 and 24 wasted face masks along its shores.
Discussing the difference in numbers between urban and resort beaches, the study considers beachgoers as the likely culprits as opposed to illegally discarded waste or other issues.
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The study further notes that 96.2% of the total recorded masks are single-use surgical masks while the remaining 3.7% are reusable cloth masks.
The study provides alarming facts about the density of face masks found per each surveyed area when compared to population density. Findings on Moroccan shores coincide with other similar international studies carried out along the shores of the population-denser Kenyan coast, Bushehr coast, and the urban areas of Toronto.
Unfortunately, the current study’s density was much higher than the one recorded by previous studies in both national and international spheres. Similar studies were conducted along the beaches of Agadir, Morocco, and Lima, Peru, finding lower density rates than the ones highlighted by the present study.
Further detailing the findings, the study showed that June recorded the highest rate of face masks detected with a percentage of 41.4% of the overall recovered totals. In obvious justification, this indicates that this highest rate could be due to the fact that the country’s northern beaches witness considerable human activity during the summer.
Still, the survey indicated that the concerned beaches are “cleaned on a daily basis by the municipality during the summer season”. Meanwhile, April through May recorded the lowest period of face masks being littered at the shores. This could be due to this period corresponding with Ramadan; a month in which people’s visits to the beaches become limited.
The presented data hypothesizes that face masks “could drastically affect” the Moroccan Mediterranean beaches in the coming years, making the far-reaching COVID-19 pandemic effects stretch out to even reach the global environment. This would counter the recent achievement in reduced global warming praised by scientists by lockdowns during the pandemic.
Face masks have been raising questions about their impact on the global environment, adding more pollutants to an already fragile environment system. Several studies have warned against the risks that could result from face masks misuse in the global environment, stating that about 1.56 billion face masks entered the oceans in 2020.
