The new way to recycle disposable masks at Manitoba provincial parks

WINNIPEG -

The Manitoba government has unveiled a new initiative to help keep reusable masks out of landfills.

On Friday, Conservation and Climate Minister Sarah Guillemard announced a new program, which will make it easier for people to recycle disposable masks at 15 locations at Manitoba provincial parks.

Guillemard noted that mask use is important for protection against COVID-19, but that once a disposable mask is used it turns into waste that needs to be treated differently than standard garbage or recyclables.

“We want Manitobans to remain safe and are committed to keeping our parks clean, while reducing the environmental impact of disposable masks,” she said in a news release.

Throughout the pandemic, provincial parks have seen an increase in attendance, and the province expects this trend to continue.

Now, in order to combat an increase in discarded masks, a number of parks will be collecting the disposable masks in TerraCycle’s disposable masks zero waste boxes.

Once the boxes are filled, the masks will be sent to TerraCycle’s sorting facility in Ontario, where they will be broken down into component materials.

Metal from the masks will be repurposed into new metal sheeting and the polypropylene-dominant mixture will be converted into a raw material used in plastic lumber and composite decking applications. The elastic portion of the masks will be ground into a fine mesh and mixed with recycled plastic as an additive to provide flexibility to other products.

Tom Szaky, CEO and founder of TerraCycle, noted that the pandemic has posed many challenges, including spikes in plastic pollution caused by the improper disposal of single-use masks.

“As a company, TerraCycle’s mission has always been to ‘Eliminate the Idea of Waste’ and through the use of our Zero Waste Box program, we provide an easy solution to collect and recycle disposable masks, keeping them out of the landfill and from littering our natural spaces,” Szaky said.

The zero waste boxes will be distributed to:

• The Cedar Bog trailhead, campground office and west beach shelter at Birds Hill Provincial Park;
• The Spirit Sands trailhead and campground office at Spruce Woods Provincial Park;
• The campground office at Winnipeg Beach Provincial Park;
• The Pioneer Beach at Clearwater Provincial Park;
• The Pinawa Dam Provincial Heritage Park;
• The Blue trailhead and campground office at St. Malo Provincial Park;
• Grand Beach town site and campground office at Grand Beach Provincial Park; and
• The Falcon Beach town site, Falcon Beach campground office and the West Hawk Lake campground office at Whiteshell Provincial Park.