Simply put, plastic pollution is ballooning, and our waste management systems can’t keep up, with the environment — and the ocean in particular — bearing the costs. To tackle the PPE waste problem, we must tackle how we manage all plastic waste, at every level.

Related article: The Southampton research program, led by Dr Min Kwan Kim from the Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, aims to tackle the growing problem of plastic waste generated by PPE and prevent shortages of protective equipment. [https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1217](https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1217)

Personal protective equipment is a critical public health tool, and it’s going to be with us for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, the rise in PPE waste comes at a time when plastic waste from takeout and delivery food ware is also increasing. And we know that this, too, is ending up in our waterways. In fact, even prior to the pandemic, plastic items like food wrappers, takeout containers, straws and more have regularly been among the top 10 most commonly collected items during Ocean Conservancy’s annual cleanup efforts.