"20 Million Masks Disposed Daily in Korea Alone... Generating 1000 Tons of Greenhouse Gases"

Estimated Annual Usage of Approximately 7.3 Billion Units

Photo by OceansAsia website

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] It has been estimated that greenhouse gases emitted due to masks could reach 1,000 tons per day.

On the 28th, the office of Lee Juhwan, a member of the People Power Party, presented these results based on a report titled "Environmental Pollution Caused by Mask Disposal," which was obtained from the Legislative Research Office.

According to the report, a survey conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission early last year involving 1,215 people found that, on average, one mask is used every 2.3 days.

Based on this, it was analyzed that the domestic population of 51 million uses 20 million masks daily. The annual usage was estimated to be approximately 7.3 billion masks.

According to a paper by Kazanan Selvaranjan, a researcher at the University of Sheffield in the UK, published in the international journal "Environmental Issues" in April last year, burning one N95 mask, which has similar performance to the KF94 mask, is estimated to produce 50g of greenhouse gases in terms of CO2 equivalent. This figure does not include greenhouse gases generated during the transportation process related to mask production.

The paper identified that greenhouse gases are emitted during processes involving polypropylene, the main material of mask filters, and small amounts of aluminum used in masks.

The paper also pointed out that greenhouse gases are emitted when producing and sewing the mask fabric.

Considering South Korea's mask usage and the estimated greenhouse gases generated during mask production, the greenhouse gases emitted due to masks are estimated at 1,000 tons per day and 365,000 tons annually.

Since masks are mainly disposed of as general waste according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, it is difficult to accurately measure the amount used and discarded.

Masks, which are mainly disposed of as general waste, release carbon dioxide from the polypropylene filter part during incineration. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), burning 1 ton of polypropylene produces approximately 3.07 tons of greenhouse gases.

Polypropylene is known to take 450 years to be completely decomposed by microorganisms underground, so even if landfilled without incineration, environmental problems may arise.

Lawmaker Lee Juhwan stated, "Since mask-wearing is unavoidable, even if we put aside the greenhouse gases generated during production, it is necessary to prepare measures to minimize environmental harm when disposing of masks."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.