Heriot-Watt University researchers have found a way to tackle the mountains of waste created by medical masks using a new method that involves air and electricity. The technique can replace incineration, which is expensive and harmful to the environment, and instead use a cold plasma system that requires only around 200 watts of electricity, equivalent to playing on a PlayStation. The team at Heriot-Watt University developed a low-power air plasma way that could degrade surgical masks in four hours, with 90% of the face mask gone. Before the pandemic, every tonne of medical waste costs around £450 to dispose of in the UK, but the system is more energy-efficient and cost-effective, and could be used at a larger scale in the future.
