Personal protective equipment (PPE) and other items that don't biodegrade are dried before ending up in a large waste pile nearby. "Whether they're wipes, whether they're masks, whether they're rubber gloves, all of those things can't be treated in the sewage system and, in fact, damage our equipment," said Jerry Dobrovolny, chief administrative officer for Metro Vancouver. Some of the non-biodegradable garbage filtered out of sewage waste is set aside to be dried and trucked to landfills. In addition to people flushing them down the toilet, cities are seeing personal protective equipment discarded on the street. WATCH | PPEs create a waste problem, but Canadian scientists are working on a solution:All those disposable gloves, masks and wipes that people are using to protect themselves against COVID-19 are creating a waste problem, but scientists are working on a made-in-Canada solution.

Source: CBC News June 09, 2020 07:52 UTC