WuFlu Creates New Threat to Chesapeake Bay

Discarded PPE Litters Neighborhoods

If it wasn’t enough that the virus pandemic has everyone decked out in face coverings and rubber gloves to thwart the spread of germs, the area

Some masks don't find their way to the trash can.

#is now inundated with the discarded refuse in many parking lots. Can’t touch the stuff because it may have germs, so the discarded personal protection equipment known as “PPE,” sits and bakes under the summer sun.

#This issue has come up to Laurel Shultzaberger, the emergency management and safety coordinator for the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services, who recommends a common sense approach: just throw the used PPE in the trash cans in the shopping centers or at home. “We have had some reports of these on the ground,” she said.

#It’s better to go with reusable masks, disposable sanitizing wipes and rubber gloves that go in the trash, not flushed down the toilet. The county is finding that many are flushing the wipes which clog the drains or end up in the storm drains and “creating another environmental hazard,” Shultzaberger said.

#Jeff McKay, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, put a message about this in a past newsletter this spring. “I have been hearing about a noticeable amount of used gloves, masks, and wipes discarded onto the ground throughout the community. Please remember to dispose of these materials correctly and help us communicate that improper disposal is a public health hazard for your neighbors and our waste collection workers that must clean them up. Another concern is that these items get washed into the waterways and into the Chesapeake Bay,” he said.

I have seen a couple of masks discarded on the beach, but I wouldn't exactly call it a crisis yet. Hopefully we'll be done with nonsense before it gets to that point.

Wombat-socho has Rule 5 Sunday: Toni McBride ready at The Other McCain.