Disposal of disposable medical masks, which are used as a protective measure during the coronavirus pandemic, poses a serious problem for all states. The sheer number of used masks significantly increases the volume of debris and pollutes the environment.
The director of the Jewish National Fund nursery, Pablo Cherkassky, proposed an ingenious solution to the disposal issue: he believes that used medical masks can be used as containers for growing seedlings.
– Each time, changing the mask over the past months, I thought how it can be used for the benefit of nature. After all, a huge number of disposable masks pollute our ecology, increasing the volume of garbage.
I personally think that from an environmental point of view, it is more correct to use reusable masks. But then the thought occurred to me that in the used masks it would be possible to grow plants instead of pots. I decided to test my guesses, filled the masks with compost and placed the germinated seeds of various species of plants – trees and shrubs there. And they gave wonderful sprouts. The seedlings turned out no worse than in pots, – said Cherkassky.
The specialist recommends placing masks with soil on a pallet with a small amount of water, which will have to be refilled periodically. These unusual pots are great for growing flowers, mint, basil, and other plants that don't require deep soil.
Yes, with this approach, the problem of the final disposal of masks (after growing seedlings in them) does not disappear anywhere, but this is another topic for thought and invention.
