Usage and the recyclability of various types of plastics during the COVID-19 pandemic 2022-03-23
The COVID-19 pandemic has reemphasized the indispensable role of plastics in our daily life. Plastics in terms of personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other single-use medical equipment along with packaging solutions owing to their inherent properties have emerged as a life-savior for protecting the health and safety of the frontline health workers and the common citizens during the pandemic. However, plastics have been deemed as evil polluter due to their indiscriminate littering and mismanagement amid increased plastic usage and waste generation during this unprecedented crisis. This article reviews and assesses to dwell upon whether plastics in the time of pandemic are acting as protector of the public health or polluter of the environment. Considering the utilities and limitations of plastic along with its management or mismanagement, and the fate, an equitable appraisal suggests that the consumers' irresponsible behavior, and attitude and poor awareness, and the stress on wast