The new way to recycle disposable masks at Manitoba provincial parks
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.