The COVID-19 disease has been wreaking havoc on people all across

the world for years. The virus has consumed plenty of lives and continues to
do so. In order to prevent the virus from spreading, health care workers, vital
employees, and the general public must rely only on personal protective
equipment. Face masks have become a vital item in recent years, with
massive quantities being produced every day to fulfil global demand. They
are usually made from non-biodegradable petrochemicals as basic materials
and are currently and in the future considered hazardous medical waste. The
use of face masks, as well as other medical waste from hospitals and
residential rubbish, has increased dramatically. It has become a massive
challenge for global governments to clean this debris, which may or may not
include infectious pathogens. For successful management of rising medical
waste, global governments must implement a constructive technique or
system. Adequate garbage recycling or conversion to other types of energy
might be a good option that any government could apply to handle the
current issue. If medical wastes are not appropriately managed now, their
influence will be magnified in the future, with potentially negative
consequences for the land and ocean ecosystems. A solution to solving the
problem is to make improvised face masks using nanotechnology or
biomaterials, which should have the same or higher efficiency than
traditional masks and be fully biodegradable so as not to disrupt the terrestrial
or marine ecology.
The Philippine National Government should also enable Local
Government Units (LGUs) to develop strategic and long-term approaches to
the handling of discarded Disposable Masks, ensuring that both people and
the environment are protected from the COVID-19 pandemic's risks. The
study's findings increase public awareness of the harmful consequences of
inappropriate Disposable masks disposal. As the entire society is gripped by
the virus, it is critical that waste management be given top priority alongside
the disease's handling and management. States all across the world might
adopt national legislation to address the growing problem of disposable
masks and inappropriate disposal. Intensified education campaigns in highly
urbanised communities where virus transmission is faster and more serious,
curriculum-based advocacy for young people who could potentially have a
multiplier effect in their respective households, and strict and consistent
policy implementation at the local level are all examples of strategic
interventions.
The results of this study recommends that everyone should be educated
about environment-friendly and sustainable ways on how to discard used
DMs, regardless of age, sex, level of education, level of income, or place of
residence. Campaigns on the appropriate disposal of DMs utilising
multimedia platforms, such as social networking sites and radio broadcasts,
which are both available and accessible to the general public, should be
one of the priorities during this pandemic