Juana Garcia/The Cougar

As mask-wearing students return to campus for the fall semester during the coronavirus pandemic, disposable mask litter has built up.

In popular areas, like outside the student centers and walking to Cougar Woods Dining Commons, students find dirty masks, sometimes disposable and sometimes lost fabric ones, abandoned on the sidewalk.

When it comes to disposing of this extra waste on campus, the UH Facilities Solid Waste handles litter and the addition of disposable masks.

“Our hope and our expectation is 100 percent compliance with the University’s mask policy. In the event a mask falls to the ground, then, like any other object, it will be properly disposed of,” said UH spokesperson Mike Rosen.

Part of the solid waste litter increasing in the pandemic does not just come from face wear, but additional waste built up by safety precautions.

Cougar Woods has become the sole dining hall on campus that remains open this semester and it offers a to-go option for students who do not desire to eat in the building. These to-go materials are often disposable, but they don’t always get properly disposed of.

With the addition of plastic foam boxes, plastic cups and plastic bags comes the addition of waste on campus.

news@thedailycougar.com

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“Disposable masks build up litter on campus” was originally posted on The Cougar