Many more masks in litter since Covid restrictions relaxed

The share of face masks in litter increased sharply since the government relaxed coronavirus restrictions in mid-February, cleanup organizer Nederland Schoon told NU.nl. "It is really striking how many more face masks are found. It is now one of the most common forms of litter," spokesperson Vincent Breedveld said to the newspaper.

Every year in March, Nederland Schoon organizes the National Cleanup Day. Over 47,000 volunteers took part this year, cleaning up litter throughout the country and reporting what they found to Nederland Schoon. Based on that data and their own research, the organization concluded that face masks are now the fourth most common type of litter in the Netherlands. Last year, face masks were still in seventh place.

Many face masks were found around stations and near tram and bus stops. Face masks were mandatory on public transport until Wednesday. Breedveld thinks that the relaxation of the coronavirus measures in mid-February contributed to the increase of face masks in the litter.

"The vast majority of people really want to take the trouble to throw waste in a trash can. But around public transport people are always getting things in and out of their pockets and bags. In doing so, they sometimes unconsciously lose their face mask, and it blows away," Breedveld said to NU.nl. The organization urged people to take extra care in disposing of their face masks. "People are reluctant to clean up masks and other medical waste if they come across it. Picking up a candy wrapper is not a problem, but medical waste is quickly considered scary."