Furniture made from used disposable masks as another way to prevent an environmental disaster

[zakiyatasnim]

The coronavirus has not only taken a toll on the economy, but also on the environment: the mass production of personal protective equipment has caused a new surge in plastic pollution. South Korean designer Haneul Kim decided to draw attention to this problem in a creative way and created several chairs from recycled disposable masks. Kim hopes that his project will force people and companies to think about new ways to save the planet from plastic.



About 129 billion plastic face masks and 65 billion gloves are created every month . And because these items are not biodegradable, they will end up in landfills and oceans for hundreds of years.



South Korean designer Haneul Kim decided to draw attention to the scale of this problem and proposed a creative way to recycle personal protective equipment. For his project, he collected thousands of disposable masks, melted them down and got a strong and durable plastic, from which he made nine chairs. Kim painted them in pink, white and blue and covered them with multi-colored patterns.

approach pollution creatively. At this point, it's just a concept project and he doesn't plan to put it into mass production just yet.



For years, various organizations have been drawing attention to the paraguay number data problem of plastic waste. According to the Ocean Conservancy, there are 150 million tons of plastic in the oceans, which marine animals often mistake for food. More than 300 million tons of plastic are produced annually, half of which is destined for single-use products.

It's not just landfills and oceans that are littered—because this material breaks down into microscopic particles, it can even end up in our tap water.

“These microparticles endanger not only animal life, but also human life,” says Kim.



Two years ago, it seemed like the world had reached a turning point in this fight. Brands like Everlane and Adidas began using recycled plastic in their products. Last year, some states in the US, such as California and Massachusetts, introduced bans, restrictions on the use of single-use plastics. Major retail chains, including Starbucks, the Walt Disney Company and Walmart, pledged to abandon plastic straws.