A new pollution: companies face coronavirus residues
Confinement has allowed the Earth to breathe, but just a little… In fact, air pollution has returned to Europe and has already reached levels similar to those of March. This parenthesis is over, and unfortunately these are not good news, neither for our health, nor for the environment, nor in the long term for our industrial ecosystem.
As a leading company in steel industry and pioneer in safety, hygiene and health policies at work, Arania’s responsibility involves ensuring that this pandemic and its effects will generate the smallest ecological impact. Whether in terms of emissions, pollution or, above all, proper treatment of waste generated by the use of PPE (personal protective equipment), a responsible industrial project must deal with these concerns in a conscientious manner.
For example, remote working measures implemented by Arania – whenever possible – can help to reduce air pollution by removing hundreds of vehicles from the roads every day, while minimizing energy consumption at our facilities.
However, air cleanliness is approaching levels prior to the health crisis and confinement. In addition to the renewal of air pollution, the COVID-19 crisis is leading to a new source of pollution as personal protective equipment, such as gloves and facemasks, makes its way into the world’s seas and oceans.
Once the toughest phase of the epidemic has been overcome, Arania’s duty is to protect its staff, collaborators and clients. However, this must be done in a responsible way. For example, millions of facemasks are used every day, representing another great challenge for our industrial ecosystem.
Thus, waste resulting from intensive use of PPE has become a growing problem, as the mandatory use of masks and gloves in workplaces is becoming more and more widespread all over the world. In this context, it is likely that most companies in the sector will need to take specific measures to deal with these problems in the future, particularly during 2021.
Most estimations says PPE makes up less than 1% of the waste collected over the last months, showing the problem could increase as the pandemic drags on, aggravating the already worrying levels of waste in the world’s oceans, where eight million tons of plastic are estimated to be dumped every year, according to the WWF. Arania, as a leading company in industrial responsibility, is facing this challenge with the importance it deserves.