WILTSHIRE Council is urging people to dispose of their single-use face masks in their household waste or in litter bins rather than dropping them in the street.

The call comes after a business waste company claimed the council was being forced to spend thousands of pounds picking up face mask litter from public places.

The bill to clean up the discarded face masks could cost the council between £20,000 and £50,000 said waste industry expert Mark Hall, of BusinessWaste.co.uk.

He said that inconsiderate litterbugs are leaving their soiled goods all over the place and is urging people to use re-usable face masks instead of single-use masks.

He added: “In Trowbridge, this problem has become so overwhelming that Wiltshire Council will spend around £20,000-£50,000 of council taxpayers’ money to clear up littered face masks.

“We are incredibly grateful to the council for designating the money to help clean up this mess, but if people were able to stop littering their disposable masks it wouldn’t have had to come to such expensive measures.

“It’s a waste of money that could have gone towards more positive projects in the local area, but instead it’s being used to clean up borderline hazardous waste.”

Cllr Bridget Wayman, Wiltshire cabinet member for waste said, “We have certainly seen an increase in deposits of PPE across the county, particularly single-use face masks.

“Whilst it is encouraging to see the majority of people in Wiltshire following government guidance on face coverings, one drawback is this noticeable increase in litter and we would urge anyone using single use face coverings to dispose of them in their household waste or a litter bin. This will both protect the environment and limit the spread of coronavirus.

“We would encourage people where possible to use reusable face masks minimising the amount of unnecessary plastic entering the waste stream.

“Wiltshire Council spends around £2.5 million each year on picking up litter which could be better used to support other vital services.

“Our Enforcement Officers are authorised to issue fixed penalty notices for littering (currently £150) to anyone they witness dropping litter and this includes discarded items of PPE.”

However, other west Wiltshire towns say that face mask litter is not posing a huge problem for them.

A spokesman for Bradford on Avon Town Council said: “We’ve just checked with the town wardens and between them, they pick up around 3-4 masks per day.

“As these are collected on their standard rounds, on which they collect various discarded litter items, it is not possible to quantify the cost to the town council of doing so.

“For environmental reasons, the town council would urge people to use re-usable washable masks wherever possible, and when discarding any mask, to of course use the bins provided and cut the elastic loops beforehand to reduce the risk to wildlife if bins are disturbed.

“Whilst some masks are discarded irresponsibly, we also recognise that masks, just as any small items, can often fall out of people pockets whilst walking, so this will account for some which are found.”

David McKnight, of Melksham Town Council, said: “It hasn’t been raised as a big problem as far as I know. I suspect the onus will lie with Wiltshire Council and their contractors.”

Waste collection specialists BusinessWaste.co.uk are urging people to make sure that face masks are binned correctly and not just dumped in the street.

Mr Hall said: “Wearing a face mask has allowed us to keep safe this year, and it’s fantastic how many people have adapted to regularly wearing one but would you pick up somebody else’s used mask?

“If people were as passionate about binning them properly as they are about wearing them in the shops, it would be much better for our environment and save our local councils time and money.”

The company says 50 million face masks are going to landfill each day across the UK, as well as killing wildlife and ending up in our oceans.

Mr Hall says that in our most populated areas, this problem has reached a boiling point. More people mean more masks being used and littered, which is why local councils up and down the country are pledging combined millions to try and put a stop to this problem.

According to the latest report by the Office For National Statistics, 97 per cent of people use a face covering when outside of their home.

Based on recent survey, 51 per cent of those wearing face coverings were using single-use masks.

Using these recent statistics, as well as looking at the current population size, BusinessWaste.co.uk has estimated that 49 per cent of the total population of Trowbridge are using single-use masks.

Mr Hall said: “If we assume these people are using a new mask each day, one a day for five days a week, that is a lot of masks and a lot of waste.

“Unless people make the switch to reusable masks, then we have to find simple and effective ways for people to dispose of these masks that won’t damage the environment.”

When BusinessWaste.co.uk asked 1,000 people if they would pick up a discarded facemask, 99 per cent said no.

The most common response for leaving littered face mask, was not wanting to touch something they feared would be contaminated with Covid-19.

“It’s perfectly understandable that people wouldn’t want to pick up discarded masks on the street, especially when we’ve had the importance of hygiene drilled into us all year,” Mr Hall said.

“It just highlights that we need to tackle the problem at the source, stopping masks from being littered rather than requiring people to go around picking them up.”

The simplest answer would be to install pop-up PPE bins, which BusinessWaste.co.uk suggested earlier in the year.

These bins would make it easier for people to dispose of masks while out and about, whilst also following government guidelines about separating personal waste from general waste.

Mr Hall added: “PPE bins are the best chance we’ve got to protect both people and the planet from the effects of this pandemic, while keeping our streets free from face mask litter.

“Without them, towns and cities around the UK - not just in Trowbridge - will see local councils spending a small fortune clearing up after this mess.”