Cassandra Shank

Dr. Xu Song
COMM 2103-191
29 May 2020
Assignment Two - Writing News for Traditional Media
Part One
COVID-19 slows the movement to end plastic in the United States.

NEW YORK CITY, NY. (CNN) ---- The movement to end plastic waste in the United States
loses momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic due to national preventative measures.

Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke of the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE) in several of
April’s White House COVID-19 briefings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also
stress the importance of PPE accompanied with social distancing.

Surgical masks, gloves, protective equipment, body bags, and many other medical equipment are
made out of plastic. Both medical professionals and civilians aim to stock up on PPE. This
means that more protective gear is being produced in order to meet the demand.

Although latex gloves are biodegradable, vinyl and nitrile gloves are made from synthetic
polymers that do not biodegrade. Surgical masks and certain protective gear for medical staff are
made from polypropylene, which is not a biodegradable compound. Disposable gloves made
from polyethylene are common among people who are practicing social distancing rules in order
to avoid contact opportunities that could cause infection.

Polystyrene is a major element in the creation of disposable meal boxes and other carry-out
containers. Polyethylene is one of the main components in plastic shopping bags.

Experts say there has been an increase in the usage of plastic bags, packaging, and bottles during
the COVID-19 crisis. The food industry has restricted the use of reusable containers and has
switched to disposable options. Since dining inside of restaurants is prohibited in most areas, the
public is forced to use plastic travel containers when ordering food to-go. Retail and grocery
stores have restricted the use of reusable bags and packaging which means that single-use plastic
is the only option for most consumers.

Studies from the New England Journal of Medicine have provided data that supports the claim
that the coronavirus can last up to 72 hours on plastics. This information is concerning to
specialists in the medical community who are suggesting opting for safer options such as paper
bags at the supermarket.

Multiple states have revoked or postponed their ban on single-use plastic bags to account for
unprecedented times.

Managing plastic waste will be difficult for governments when many industries rely heavily on
its usage. More so now during a pandemic or disposability.
Across the nation, civilians have reported seeing plastic gloves and other protective gear thrown
to the wayside in their neighborhoods.

Some public officials have taken to social media to plea with local residents to properly dispose
of PPE.

Citizens like New York State Assemblyman Michael Reilly took to twitter saying that he was
“disgusted” at the amount of gloves and masks scattered in parking lots.

Other community officials have posted law enforcement officers in public areas, like parking
lots, in order to write up those who are caught littering or discarding PPE.

Tony Radoszewski, CEO of the Plastics Industry Association, wrote a letter to Health and
Human Services Secretary Alex Azar asking the department to comment against the bans on
plastics that have been sought after by environmentalists. CEO Radoszewski also comments that
the immature ban of plastics during this time would put consumers and essential workers, as well
as their jobs, at risk. The plastic industry believes that their product is an essential resource and is
the best way for consumers to avoid transmitting the disease.

David Biderman, executive director and CEO of Solid Waste Association of North America,
explains that since social distancing began in the United States, there has been a 30 percent daily
increase in trash generation. CEO Biderman points out that some communities are experiencing
up to an 80 percent increase in their generation of waste.

The CDC recommends the use of soaps and hand sanitizers in order to clean hands. An increase
demand in soap bottles, hand sanitizer bottles, as well as disinfectant wipes lead to an increase in
plastic waste.

From an economic view, specialists are concerned with the uncertainties that come with the
coronavirus's effect on waste services.

The World Economic Forum predicts that the disruption to the waste management and recycling
sectors will take a considerable amount of time to recover from this pandemic on the national
level. There is also speculation that waste management and recycling operations cannot handle
the great volume of plastics that will remain post-pandemic.

For example, decreases in oil prices lead to a decrease in the cost of plastics. Based on the
incredibly low inert value of plastic, many companies are being forced to make a decision on
whether recycling will be an option going forward.

Many environmentalists argue that the insurgence of plastics and PPE in waterways will be
detrimental to wildlife. Research has already found that turtles ingest plastic because it resembles
their prey, the jellyfish. Oceans campaign director at Greenpeace USA, John Hocevar, explains
that plastic bags and gloves can easily be mistaken by sea turtles for food.
Nick Mallos, representative of US-based NGO Ocean Conservancy, explains that many
conservation organizations understand the immediate concern for public health and safety, but
many of these environmentalists disagree with the lack of concern for the environment.

CNN reporter Rob Picheta says, “And the irony is that, while we produce and discard plastic to
fight one public health crisis, we may be slowly contributing to another.”

Doctor Fengwei (David) Xie, a fellow at the University of Warwick, conducted research on
biopolymers as a substitution for hazardous, single-use plastics. Plastic is one of the key
materials used in aiding public health efforts. Dr. Xie comments that the increase in plastic usage
during the COVID-19 pandemic will have a lasting effect on the global environment.

The CDC recommends the usage of face masks and, on some occasions, gloves. Gloves are
suggested to be worn in health care facilities, work settings and at the discretion of state
recommendations.

Going forward, scientists suggest increasing the use of compostable plastics instead of their
single-use counterparts. Through the development in technology within the last decade, many
manufacturers have been able to produce more sustainable options to replace plastics. With
combined efforts from national and local businesses, making the shift away from single-use
plastics to more sustainable options would maintain caution for public health while being
conscious of environmental health.
Part Two
In the news story in part one of this assignment, several values are exhibited. The values that I
found to be most prominent were impact, conflict, proximity and timeliness. Impact was
demonstrated when I outlined how an increase in plastic pollution had a major impact on many
different aspects of life from the top down. Conflict was another value that could be seen in this
news story. On one hand, items made from plastic benefit public health efforts as they are one of
the main components in the creation of PPE to help combat COVID-19. On the other hand, the
national increase of plastic usage is harming the global environment. Proximity is also present in
this news story. The content of the news story was relatable to many people during this time.
Individuals were able to go on a neighborhood walk and see a variety of plastic pollution from
gloves to masks to assorted take-out containers. Timeliness was a prominent value in this news
story because the issue is current and deals directly with what is on the forefront of thought: the
coronavirus pandemic.
Altruistic democracy is an enduring value that can be found in the news story. Law
enforcement agencies were proactive against littering. Public figures also spoke out against the
pollution via social media.
The main viewpoints that I included in the news story were the plastic industry,
environmentalists and public health advisors. Public health advisors encouraged the use of PPE
which increases the amount of plastic waste. The plastic industry argued that plastic is the best
method of protection, whereas environmentalists argued that there are better and safer solutions
that would not be as hazardous to the environment.
 References
Chua, J. (May, 2020). Plastic bags were finally being banned. Then came the pandemic.
Vox. Retrieved from:
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/5/20/21254630/plastic-bags-single-use-cups-coron
avirus-covid-19-delivery-recycling
Farzon, A. (April, 2020). Masks and gloves are used to help stop the spread of
coronavirus. The way they’re disposed of are putting people, animals at risk. The
Washington Post. Retrieved from:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/09/discarded-gloves-masks-coronavirus
/
Hughes, K. (May, 2020). Protector or polluter? The impact of COVID-19 on the
movement to end plastic waste. GreenBiz. Retrieved from:
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/protector-or-polluter-impact-covid-19-movement-end-p
lastic-waste
Konov, D. (May, 2020). COVID-19 is forcing us to rethink our plastic problem. World
Economic Forum. Retrieved from:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/covid-19-is-forcing-us-to-rethink-our-plastic-p
roblem/
Picheta, R. (May, 2020). Coronavirus is causing a flurry of plastic waste. Campaigners
fear it may be permanent. CNN. Retrieved from:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/04/world/coronavirus-plastic-waste-pollution-intl/index.ht
ml
Tenenbaum, L. (April, 2020). The Amount Of Plastic Waste Is Surging Because Of The
Coronavirus Pandemic. Forbes. Retrieved from:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lauratenenbaum/2020/04/25/plastic-waste-during-the-time-
of-covid-19/#1bb83c437e48
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (April, 2020). How to Protect Yourself
& Others. Centers for N.A. Retrieved from:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (April, 2020). When to Wear Gloves.
Centers for N.A. Retrieved from:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/gloves.html
University of Warwick (May, 2020). COVID-19: Is the future more plastic? Phys.org.
Retrieved from: https://phys.org/news/2020-05-covid-future-plastic.html