Surgical & Beauty Facial Masks: The New Waste Problem of Post Covid-19

The actual unsustainable plastic waste has been further increased by the massive use of surgical- and beauty masks...

: Worldwide production of plastics (by courtesy of plastic EU [1,2]. Moreover, before and during the lockdown period, COVID-19 pushed people to use more plastic than usual by the ordered takeaway food, packed into disposable boxes made all by the nonbiodegradable PP or Polystyrene (PS). Just as an example to better understand how large the problem of this new waste is, it has been calculated from Turin Polytechnic University that Italy, during its lifting of lockdown phase will need one billion masks and half million gloves for month. If just 1% of these masks will be disposed incorrectly and dispersed in nature, as in Hong Kong ( Figure 3) [4], it would result in as 10 million masks per month, polluting the environment for more than 400 tons, considering around 4 g the weight of each mask! [5]. Thus, coronavirus waste has become a new form of pollution, provoking a number of unexpected impacts on the worldwide environment by the increased use of plastic.
However, the positive results for the forced confinement at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, was the strong daily slowing down of the global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, decreased by -17% by early April 2020 compared with the mean 2019 levels [6].
Therefore, on the one hand, it is urgent to know ,determine ,and understand which kind of actual masks should be better to select and use daily between the surgical medical device's masks and the simpler washable and reusable cloth masks.  [4]).
Both the masks, in fact, may be used from general consumers who have to be instructed on the existing differences (effectiveness, safeness ,benefits and risks) between the used tissues which could be cause of serious problems for their personal health and the environment [7]. On the other hand, there is the necessity to study and produce the COVID-19 items by the use of biodegradable natural polymers, such as chitin/chitosan, starch and lignin or natural-made , such as polylactic acid (PLA) obtained by microbial fermentation of starch/ sugarcane or polyhydroxy alkenoates (PAs) made by sugars and lipids. All these polymers are environmentally friendly because decomposed into harmless and small molecules by the action of microorganisms living in nature. Another new source of plastic waste is caused by the increased use of sheet Beauty masks made prevalently by non-biodegradable polymers. The factor driving the global demand of these smart masks is a rise in economic growth surge in consumer preferences toward innovative, natural, skin-and environment-friendly cosmetic products ( Figure   4) and changing luxuring behaviors of consumers. People use these masks to remove the skin' excess oil and as moisturizing and antiaging cosmetics also because they don't want to feel old so that their use for at least one a month, is thought to maintain their own mental and physical balance [8]. In conclusion on the one hand ,the single-use of surgical masks is considered indispensable especially during the COVID-19 pandemic period to protect the organism from the microbial and viruses invasion, while the of beauty masks result useful to maintain an healthy and juvenile aspect. On the other hand, it is necessary to think about the planet's long period health, by the most possible use of natural-derived polymers, such as chitin and lignin.

Surgical and Beauty Mask Market & Waste Surgical Masks
Single-use Surgical Masks are medical device products that, registered worldwide at Ministry of Health of the different Countries, are classified in depending on the level of protection they provide.
They are composed by a musty-layered structure, generally made by three layers where a layer of textile is covered on both sides by non-woven PP/PE melt bowed films to obtain a bacteria filtration efficiency greater than 96% [7]. The single-use mask, available in many different styles and grades, is designed to provide protection against pathogen microorganisms filtering out air bone particles, viruses, and bacteria above 1 micron. Its filtration efficiency, that has to be controlled by standardized procedures, depends on fibers structure/cross-sectional shape and the relative manufacture.
Reusable masks made from multi-layered cloth may be attractive to minimize the disposal of plastic waste. Thus, it is important to know risk associated with laundering processes necessary to eliminate contamination from fabric and linen materials. Moreover, it seems necessary to organize comparative studies on the wash ability and safeness of these masks' reusing, giving to consumers the guidelines for their correct use together with the motivations for rendering them attractive.

Beauty Facial Mask
Wellness is, however, a modern world with ancient roots, the key tenets of which are both preventive and holistic measures from the ancient civilizations from East (India, CINA) to the West (Greece, Egypt, Rome). Actually, consumers are becoming to explore the push-pull between nature and science and cosmetics are considered essential for social wellness from both women and men of the different generations [14,15]. These consumers are searching natural products considered more efficacious with minimal toxicity, while the beauty industry is playing an essential role during the COVID19 pandemic by providing people with basic hygiene products and supporting their self-esteem [16]. Thus, an elegant surgical face mask design, for example, may be used to differentiate the facial image together with a colored make-up, enhancing brows and eyes staying on under the mask [6]. However, Fashion and beauty, have a close relationship to select the surgical mask also ,each influencing the other by color and style as well as the beauty face mask is selected for its nature less and effectiveness.   Taking due account of consumer expectations and preferences toward innovative and natural products and remembering that plastic micro-particles go into food, soil and water with a toxic effect, it is necessary to promote the alternative use of sustainable surgical-and beauty recyclable masks made by biodegradable materials. According to the numerous research studies of our group one of the solutions appear the use of polysaccharide compounds ,such as chitin and lignin as basic raw materials embedded into natural and biodegradable, nano-composite polymers, used as nano-carrier emulsions or non-woven smart tissues [21][22][23]. It has been shown that these non-woven tissues, made also by watersoluble polymers, may be realized by natural fibers containing the chitin-lignin microparticle complexes, bound on its surface or into their structure [24][25][26]. These innovative tissues, made by waste materials result functional agents in skin regeneration and rejuvenation, according also to the United Nations' goals for the sustainable development of a new bio-green economy [27][28][29].

Proposed Solutions
By the different active ingredients encapsulated into the CN-NG complexes, the tissues have shown anti-aging (Figure 8), antipollution or skin repairing activity ( Figure 9) and ,therefore, to be effective for their use as beauty facial sheet masks or advanced medications.  [34][35][36][37][38][39]. These smart tissue-carriers, in fact, have shown to be able to load and deliver the active ingredients through the cutaneous tissue replicating its normal physiological morphology.  [40].
The components ,such as chitin and lignin in their nano size, stimulate the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines and defensine-2 ,mimicking the native Extra Cellular Matrix (ECM) [23,[35][36][37][40][41][42] and involving the right production and regular disposition of the collagen' fibers ( Figure 10) [43]. Moreover, it is interesting to underline the complete biodegradability of the tissues selected which have shown to be skin-and environmentally friendly. They, in fact, are easily metabolized by human and the environment enzymes, to ingredients safe and utilized from the cells as food or energy [24,25].

Conclusion
The waste problem became a great problem of pollution for the entire planet. On the one hand ,plastic goods, plastic packaging, and surgical-and beauty masks are an integral part of the global economy delivering many benefits, on the other hand 95%of their value is lost to the economy, generating negative pollutants for a value of around US$ 40 billion per year [44,45]. Moreover, it is to remember that Increasing levels of pollutants can modify the energy balance of the atmosphere and planet' surface, leading to climate change. Thus, given the growth increasing consumption of these non-biodegradable materials, by 2050 oceans are expected to contain more plastics than fish! [44,45]. It is time, therefore, to change our way of producing and living going versus a circular economy, without using COVID-19 as an excuse to revive old habits by solving one problem (the mask necessity) creating another Thus, the possibility to produce and use surgical-and beauty masks and cosmetic products, made by the suggested polymers, is considered a necessity to reduce the worldwide pollution and safeguard skin health and its circadian clock ,influenced by environmental factors and the modern lifestyle [23,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]47].
Enhanced personal hygiene by the use of correct and ecosustainable products, therefore, is one of the main ways to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 g as well as to maintain the general beauty and health of our body and the environment.