Disposable Face Mask Waste Poses Serious Problem in Indonesia

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia is facing problems when dealing with disposable face mask waste as its usage has been increasing since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a scientist.

Laksana Tri Handoko, Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), said that the disposable masks bring a negative impact on the management of the final disposal site (TPA) in the country.

“[Disposable face mask waste] poses a serious problem to the management of TPAs throughout Indonesia,” Handoko said during a meeting with House of Representatives Commission VII overseeing energy and environment on Wednesday, March 23.

Also read: Indonesian Schoolchildren Create Electricity from Tempeh Waste

Handoko brought up the matter when evaluating the work program of BRIN in 2021. BRIN claimed to have made technological innovations for handling Covid-19 medical waste for environmental protection. “There are clean and instruments of technologies for the environment,” he said, but no elaborate on the technological innovations produced from the disposable face mask waste.

He mentioned that the waste from disposable face masks is categorized as hazardous and dangerous (B3) waste. “The disposable masks include in the B3 list. But, they were directly dumped in the landfills,” he said.

(Writer: Nicholas Ryan Aditya | Editor: Bagus Santosa)

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2022/03/23/12452641/kepala-brin-sebut-limbah-masker-covid-19-jadi-problem-serius-di-indonesia.