Where to dispose of masks, hydroalcoholic gel and gloves, basic accessories for protection against the spread of Covid-19, has been the second most common doubt of the year 2020 in the field of recycling, according to data recorded by AIRE, the assistant virtual recycling system developed by Ecoembes.
How to recycle masks, gel bottles and gloves
One year has passed since the start of the pandemic and the concern of the Spanish people to continue caring for the environment through recycling continues. Proof of this is that AIRE has received a 30% increase in queries about where to deposit waste to be managed correctly.
In addition, the masks, the gloves and the bottle of hydroalcoholic gel, products that we hardly used before the pandemic, have become new waste that is not always known where to deposit them. Thus, the Spanish have consulted the recycling assistant what to do with them, registering 11,500 questions about this type of waste.
This large number of issues have positioned this doubt as the second most frequent last year, with the term plastic as the first position. Faced with this barrage of doubts, AIRE reminds that both masks and gloves must always be deposited in the waste bin (normal garbage), while gel bottles must be thrown in the yellow bin.
The other three questions about recycling most asked in 2020
1. Baking paper and aluminum: confinement and spending more time than ever at home have made us spend more time on activities such as cooking or baking. Thus, the system has also noticed it in the questions it has received about waste such as baking paper and aluminum: more than 8,300. The solution to this question is that the parchment paper should be placed in the blue container, while the aluminum one should be placed in the yellow container.
2. Wood: another of the most common hobbies in homes during confinement was to make renovations at home to improve their conditions. Thus, it is not surprising that wood, present in many of the objects found in homes, ranks fourth among the most sought-after residues in AIRE, with nearly 7,000 queries. In this sense, the solution is a little more complex: when it comes to boxes of fruit or vegetables for domestic consumption, they must be deposited in the yellow container. However, if it is furniture (tables, cupboards, etc.), it must be taken to the nearest clean point so that these objects do not block public roads.
3. Clothes: in a similar way to wood, the Spanish took advantage of 2020 to clean those clothes that they no longer use. Thus, AIRE received more than 6,800 queries with the term ‘clothes’, a waste that, if it cannot be donated or reused, must be taken to a recycling point.