In 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic has definitely been the most drastic event to happen this year. There have been many new changes in everyone's lives, like going out less and medical protection.

Because of this, a vital addition to our lives is wearing masks outside. Following an online survey that I conducted in my school, 21.7% of students normally wear disposable masks daily. Despite their positive effect on slowing down the transportation of Coronavirus, the surgical masks that are typically worn are not reusable. Made with polypropylene, a common plastic, these masks are not suitable for the recycling bin after being worn, so they are put into the regular bin and could end up in landfills. As well as this, since the masks are a new part of our lifestyles, people are now also littering surgical masks on the ground. This has also been the case with the increase of hand sanitisers, meaning another chance of littering. Scientists from the French “Operation Terre-Mer” have discovered masks floating in the ocean, which is yet another hazard for sea creatures. However, 75% of students typically wear cloth masks while outside, which are reusable and good for the environment.

This Is Local London: An empty hand sanitiser bottle I saw during a walk.An empty hand sanitiser bottle I saw during a walk.

Another environmental impact of Covid-19 is the increase in packaging during the lockdown. Many students have said that they have used online shopping more to avoid going outside as much. For example, 42.5% of students have used online grocery shopping methods like Ocado. With this form of shopping, there is a lot of plastic packaging and plastic bags used. This was already a big problem with supermarket chains still using unrecyclable plastic packaging in their products, creating more non-recyclable waste. One student also said with the increase of online shopping in their household, there has been a growth in cardboard boxes in their home, which are biodegradable but wasteful if you have too many.

This Is Local London: Despite the growing concern for sustainability, supermarket chains still use un-recyclable plastics to package their products.Despite the growing concern for sustainability, supermarket chains still use un-recyclable plastics to package their products.

On the contrary, perhaps the Covid-19 lockdown has greatly reduced air pollution. During the global lockdown, C02 levels had decreased significantly because of everyone staying inside. In China, a very congested country with high levels of smog, carbon emissions fell to 25% during 4 weeks between the 3rd of February and the 1st of March, which is roughly 200 million tonnes of C02. As well as this, there has obviously been less traffic because of Covid-19. During the lockdown, there were also fewer cars travelling around London, meaning a reduction of toxic fumes from cars.

Besides, cleaning supplies like anti-bacterial surface wipes are used a lot more to clean places like doorknobs and tables. For example, when my school’s year groups switch science labs, staff have to wipe the surfaces clean with disinfectant. For this, a lot of paper towels are used, and this is another example of increased waste because of cleaning. In some households, a lot of plastic bags are used to store food to block the spread of the virus. Even if you try to reuse plastic bags, this is still very unsustainable because plastic doesn’t biodegrade well. Previously before a proper lockdown, numerous people were panic-buying and hoarding a lot of unperishable food, as well as containers of water. This obviously would produce a lot of plastic waste and maybe food waste because buying canned food wasn’t necessarily important.

On the contrary, perhaps the Covid-19 lockdown has increased sustainability since it has greatly reduced air pollution. During the global lockdown, C02 levels had decreased significantly because of everyone staying inside. In China, a very congested country with high levels of smog, carbon emissions fell to 25% during 4 weeks between the 3rd of February and the 1st of March, which is roughly 200 million tonnes of C02. As well as this, there has obviously been less traffic because of Covid-19. During the lockdown, fewer cars were travelling around London, meaning a reduction of toxic fumes from cars.

What can we do from this? Since England has applied sustainable ways of living already, people are very open-minded. With the use of reusable masks, we can reduce the carbon footprint that was imprinted during the quarantine. Washing cloth masks are also a bit safer than littering disposal masks, which could still spread bacteria. 80% of people dispose of their surgical masks in the regular bin, the most reasonable, however still adding to landfills. Currently, to risk spreading Coronavirus, we have to stick with these slightly unsustainable routines, but eventually, we will continue with sustainable lifestyles after the pandemic comes to an end.