Fairfield Groups To Tackle PPE Pollution With Road Cleanup

FAIRFIELD, CT — Two Fairfield environmental education groups have joined forces to bring attention to discarded personal protective equipment that is creating pollution amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Volunteers from Mill River Wetland Committee and Fairfielders Protecting Land and Neighborhoods will hold a PPE cleanup Saturday in commercial parking lots along Post Road and Grasmere Avenue.

The goal of the cleanup is to raise awareness of waste polluting the community and to encourage individuals to properly dispose of single-use face masks, gloves and sanitary wipes. Many types of surgical masks contain plastics that taint ecosystems and disrupt marine food chains. The demand for PPE is expected to stay at an elevated level, with an estimated annual increase of 20 percent in the production of single-use face masks between 2020 and 2025, according to a news release about the cleanup.

“As community organizations who are dedicated to educating others on wetland preservation and land protection, we feel it is imperative to show the impact of how PPE, when disposed improperly, can harm our environment,” said Carrie Rullo of MRWC and Alexis Harrison, co-president of FairPLAN, in the news release. “PPE is life-saving and we have to protect ourselves, but disposable masks are creating a new and unintended problem. We have to do better.”

Social distancing protocols will be followed during the cleanup, and only a small group of volunteers will be collecting items. The volunteers will also be wearing masks and gloves. The two groups plan to do future cleanups to help get rid of waste and continue to raise awareness of the pollution.

For more information or to participate, email alexisharrisonrtm@gmail.com.