No plans to introduce bins for used masks - minister

Environment and Water Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has encouraged the public to dispose of used masks properly but said his ministry has no plans to introduce special bins for that purpose.

According to a report by The Malaysian Insight, Tuan Ibrahim (above) said this was because masks used by non-Covid-19 patients were not considered clinical waste.

“The ministry has no plans to prepare special bins for masks.

“However, we would like to encourage users to trim the strings off their masks before disposing to avoid them being stuck to animals,” he said.

Since Aug 1, wearing masks in public and crowded areas has been made mandatory. This was amid concern over the increasing disregard for standard operating procedures (SOPs) which Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said had contributed to the rise in Covid-19 cases.

Failure to abide by this new ruling would subject the violator to actions in accordance with the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.

Certain environmental groups, such as Sahabat Alam Malaysia, had called on the government to introduce special facilities to dispose of used masks which are deemed to pose a potential health hazard.

“Just as we separate and segregate paper, plastic, and glass, we should have special facilities and bins for face masks.

“However, we should not be encouraging single-use face masks or those with plastic parts and are non-recyclable.

“Since the Covid-19 pandemic is going to be with us for a while and the use of face masks in public is mandatory, it is about time we find solutions to single-use masks and substitute these with reusable face masks, ” said Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman, according to The Star.