REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - Environmentalists say face masks, gloves, take out containers and other COVID-19 essentials could stick around longer than the pandemic and change the way trash and litter look.
Delaware Electric Car Association President Charlie Garlow says he's seen less litter lying around as there have been less people going out to leave it.
"People that I'm seeing on social media around the world, they're finding masks all over beaches and rubber gloves," says Delaware Surf Fishing owner Rich King.
Delaware Surf Fishing canceled beach cleanups when the beaches closed in March. King says he hasn't seen too much trash by the water since they reopened.
"You go to any parking lot or grocery store, they're all over the ground," King says. "90% of your trash that's on the ground, eventually everything washes into the sea."
When face masks and takeout containers are left on the ground, they can harm marine life.
"Take home containers, they're made out of Styrofoam," says Garlow. "If you smash it or run over it with a car, it crumbles into little pieces and those little pieces can easily float into the air and they float on the surface of the water, so it looks like a bug or something that a fish would want to eat."
Garlow says that reusable cloth masks will break down in the environment faster than the disposable ones made out of polyester materials, but that both could pose a threat if disposed of incorrectly.
"It's more likely that sea creatures would come into contact with the longer lasting more durable masks," Garlow says.
A video Operation Clean Sea took a couple weeks ago shows COVID-19 essentials already at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
"There's usually more trash in the summer and as the summer goes on I may see more face masks," Garlow says.
Delaware Surf Fishing's beach cleanups will resume Tuesday, June 16th at 9 a.m. The first one will be held at Beach Plum Island State Park.
