Recycling of discarded masks: after repeated disinfection, they are treated as medical waste.

Beijing News (Reporter Ma Jinqian) put on goggles, masks and disposable gloves for epidemic prevention, and pulled up the newly configured yellow special garbage bin for medical waste. At 9: on February 3, Chen Yanqing, a street sanitation worker in Zhongguancun, Beijing, and his colleagues started the designated recycling of discarded masks in the community.

The disposal methods of discarded masks are different according to the region and the use scenario. The reporter tracked the recycling process of abandoned masks in Zhongguancun Street and found that Zhongguancun Street set up a special recycling place for abandoned masks. During the recycling process, abandoned masks and trash cans were disinfected several times to prevent "secondary pollution" caused by abandoned masks.

Garbage cans for recycling discarded masks set up in Donglinan Community of Shuangyushu. Photo by Beijing News reporter Li Kaixiang

Set up a special trash can and collect and treat it once every three days

Today is the second time that the street collects and treats discarded masks. In order to prevent the "secondary pollution" of discarded masks, on January 29th, Zhongguancun Street set up 4 recycling places for discarded masks within its jurisdiction. It is distributed near 3 neighborhood committees in the street, and it is also set up in public areas such as supermarkets and shopping malls. Every three days, it should be collected and processed centrally.

Chen Yanqing's sanitation enterprise undertakes the cleaning and disinfection work of Zhongguancun street. According to the requirements of street unification, gloves should be worn in two layers, with disposable PVC medical gloves inside and pure rubber industrial gloves outside. Both layers of gloves are required to be used once.

The cleaning staff will collect the abandoned masks at the street recycling place in groups of 3-4 people. Chen Yanqing and two colleagues first came to Donglinan Community Service Station on a harmful waste transfer vehicle and a high-pressure cleaning and disinfection vehicle. In front of the service station, two red trash cans are particularly conspicuous, with the words "for discarded masks" affixed on them. At the same time, there is a reminder slogan on the trash can-"The mask can't get in or there is a virus. Please don't move it regularly."

before collecting discarded masks, the garbage can and the masks in it should be disinfected for the first time. After guidance, the concentration ratio of chlorine dioxide disinfectant was increased from 1:15 to 1:1. According to the staff, two 5-liter barrels of disinfection water can basically be used up in one day. In order to prevent the disinfectant droplets from entering the eyes, one of the three people wears goggles and is responsible for spraying.

after spraying, Chen Yanqing and another colleague used a pick-up clip to take out the mask from the garbage can, put it into their own medical waste garbage bag, tie it tightly with rubber bands, and put it into the special garbage can for medical waste on the garbage transfer vehicle.

the cleaning staff disinfected the garbage can for recycling discarded masks. Photo by Beijing News reporter Li Kaixiang

The number of discarded masks has increased rapidly, and the phenomenon of mixed throwing still exists

The reporter noticed that there are also non-prescribed discarded items such as courier bags and toilet paper in the garbage collected from the garbage bins dedicated to discarded masks. "This is inevitable." The staff said that masks can also be found in ordinary garbage cans.

As the recycling place of discarded masks is generally located in a crowded place, after the masks are collected, they should be sprayed and disinfected in a larger area around by a high-pressure cleaning vehicle.

Even on the days when masks are not collected, the cleaning staff should disinfect the garbage bins of discarded masks once a day. The collected masks were transferred to Zhongguancun Hospital, and the name tag of medical waste was affixed, indicating the unit, time, weight and type. As the responsible staff, Chen Yanqing signed his name, disinfected it again, and stored it in the hospital hazardous waste storage room, and treated it as medical waste in accordance with the requirements of the street.

On January 31st, the first mask recycling was carried out in the street. After more than one day of centralized recycling and disinfection, more than 7 discarded masks were collected in 4 abandoned mask recycling places. "Although today's mask collection and disinfection work will not end until 11 pm, at the entrance of some community neighborhood committees, more than 9 masks were collected in a trash can." A staff member told reporters.

Cao Hongli, secretary of the General Party Branch of Donglinan Community, said that after the notice was issued by the street, it was notified to 1,179 households in 12 buildings in the community by means of community WeChat group, WeChat official account and bulletin board.

In Zhongguancun Hospital, the cleaning staff is filling out the Community Mask Recycling Form. Beijing News reporter Li Kaixiang photo

Expert: It is recommended to wrap the mask in a plastic bag before discarding it, and it is not recommended to tear it up or cut it

According to immunologists, the disposal of discarded masks mainly depends on the area and the use scene. The masks of residents in epidemic areas such as Wuhan, Hubei Province need to be collected and disposed of centrally because of the large number of local infected people. Areas with high risk of virus infection, such as hospitals, should be collected and treated as medical waste.

After using the mask, it is best for ordinary residents to put it in plastic bags and throw it away directly. "It's not that all masks have novel coronavirus, but there are many used masks, microorganisms, viruses and bacteria, so it's better to wrap them and throw them away, which is more beneficial to the surrounding environment." It represents.

some residents choose to tear up or cut the discarded masks before they are discarded, in order to prevent them from being picked up and used again. In response to this situation, the expert suggested that the public should try not to touch the used masks. "I personally don't advocate tearing the mask by hand, because the mask is dirty." It said that it does not advocate cutting the used masks. If it is really necessary to destroy the discarded masks, pay attention to washing hands or disinfecting tools after the end.