Yesterday we went litter picking by the sea.
As well as all the other rubbish, we found four disposable face masks, one glove, loads of disposable wipes and the nozzle from a soap or hand gel bottle.
People are using lots of face masks at the moment because of the Coronavirus, which is mainly why people are using so many gloves and wipes as well. Some people drop them on the floor when they have finished with them instead of throwing them in the bin!
Dropping them on the floor can hurt wildlife, especially as where we picked them up was by the sea so they might have ended up in the sea. The masks have elastic loops to go round people’s ears. This makes them particularly bad because birds might get trapped or tangled up in them.
People should always throw rubbish in the bin but it’s better to not use disposable things.
It’s best to use a face mask that you can wash again and again. You can buy them or make them using scrap fabric. My Grandma made some reusable masks for us.
Instead of disposable wipes, we use a wet, soapy cloth to wash ourselves when we’re out and we take some extra cloth wipes in case we need them. When we get home we can wash them and use them again and again.
Using reusable things instead of disposable things helps the planet. Please can you use reusable face masks and please don’t drop litter. Thank you. Why don’t you take litter picking things with you when you go on holiday too! Even if you pick up one bit of litter it still helps! But of course it’s better to pick up loads of litter… the more litter you pick up, the better it is!
Helping the Planet 
Well said Joey, we have been litter picking too xxxx
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I find it very sad that you have to pick up rubbish dropped by people who only care about themselves and are not capable of thinking about the future. I am very lucky to have a caring, thoughtful grandson.
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I think disposable masks for use on public transport and shops should be should be banned. People wear them more than once or for too long making them at best worthless. It is really sad when people just throw them away without any thought. I can only hope one day you and your brothers are unable to find any litter to pick up on your walks.
Meanwhile you are heroes.
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I am with you entirely, Joey. The excessive use of these pieces of disposable equipment is going to cause massive problems, especially when they are disposed of so carelessly. Well done for your continuing litter picking efforts.
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