Unless you\u2019ve been wandering around with a carrier bag over your head for the past couple of years (which, given that plastic seems to be everywhere<\/em> these days, is not an entirely implausible excuse), you can\u2019t have failed to see the extensive press coverage about the global plastic pollution crisis we are currently facing. Indeed, I wrote a piece about this topic a few years ago, which you can read here<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>– and the facts were shocking enough then. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Public awareness around the huge volume of plastic waste being dumped into our oceans (8 million pieces every day<\/em>) is increasing, and it seemed the message was beginning to sink in, as people now habitually carry reusable bags for shopping, make greater efforts to recycle their plastic waste, and reduce their consumption of single-use plastics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And then the pandemic happened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Suddenly, our demand for plastic increased exponentially, as billions of people across the globe were instructed to wear masks, and sometimes gloves, in order to protect themselves from the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a new report, humans are globally using and disposing of an estimated 129 billion face masks and 65 billion plastic gloves<\/a><\/strong> <\/a>every single month that we deal with COVID-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s almost 200 BILLION plastic items every month in PPE – completely aside from our regular plastic waste.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Recent research has shown that Brits alone are sending 1.6 <\/a><\/strong>