they may no longer look pretty at this point in the pandemic, but a new study has found reusable cotton masks can take a licking and keep on ticking.
the research,
published in the journal aerosol and air quality research
, says that while cotton coverups aren’t as effective at filtering out viral particles as their surgical counterparts, a year’s worth of washing and drying does not diminish their effectiveness. with an estimated 7,200 tons of medical waste generated every day since the start of the pandemic — the majority in the form of disposal masks — that’s a shiny silver lining for a planet that’s grown accustomed to storm clouds.
“it’s good news for sustainability,”
said marina vance
, lead author of the study and an assistant professor in the paul m. rady department of mechanical engineering at the university of colorado boulder. “that cotton mask that you have been washing, drying and reusing? it’s probably still fine — don’t throw it away.”
vance, who is also a faculty member in the school’s environmental engineering program, jumped at the opportunity to team up with scientists from the national renewable energy laboratory (nrel) who were testing the longevity of the masks that have become a pervasive part of everyday life. “we were really bothered during the beginning of the pandemic, when going out on a hike or going downtown, and seeing all these disposable masks littering the environment,” she said.