The year 2020 is bound to be remembered as a year when the world was plunged into darkness by an epidemic. Fortunately, our country has reacted quickly and will defeat the novel coronavirus at all costs. Now, we can already see the light before the dawn.
If you want to say that in this five months of darkness, the biggest change in people’s habits, should be wearing a mask. Masks must be at the top of people’s to-do list whenever and wherever they go. Many people joke that the mask is the most popular fashion item in 2020.
But unlike other items, masks used by people are often disposable items that need to be replaced frequently. Especially after the resumption of work, people’s dependence on masks has increased several levels. It is known that at least 500 million people in China have returned to work. That is to say, 500 million masks are used every day, and at the same time, 500 million masks are discarded every day.
These abandoned masks are divided into two parts: one part is the masks used by ordinary residents, which are usually classified into household garbage by default, which is where most of the masks belong; The other part is masks used by patients and medical staff. These masks are classified as clinical waste and disposed of through special channels because they may cause the transmission of the virus.
Some predict that 162,000 tons of discarded masks, or 162,000 tons of garbage, will be produced nationwide in 2020. As a general number, we may not really understand its concept. By 2019, the world’s largest whale will weigh 188 tons, or the equivalent of 25 adult giant elephants. A simple calculation would suggest that 162,000 tons of discarded masks would weigh 862 whales, or 21,543 elephants.
In just one year, people can make such a large amount of mask waste, and the final destination of this waste is usually a waste incineration power plant. Generally speaking, a waste incineration power plant can generate more than 400 KWH of electricity for every ton of waste burned, 162,000 tons of masks, or 64.8 million KWH of electricity.
Post time: May-20-2020