Can disposable face masks be used in making roads?

While many people have turned to reusable cloth face masks during the pandemic, the majority are using disposable masks. After all, they’re cheaper, more effective, and you don’t have to deal with washing them. But, there’s a downside to them: In the past year, more than 1,560 million disposable face masks ended up as garbage in the world’s oceans, and it will take four centuries for them to decompose.

Fortunately, a research team in Australia has discovered a way to extend the life of disposable masks once they’re done being worn, so that they don’t end up as litter. The team found that the masks, once disinfected, could be added to the debris conglomerate used to produce road-building material. And not only that, but they actually improved the stuff.

The masks only made up about one percent of the road material, but in tests, that was found to be enough to improve its overall cohesion. The team used 6.8 million face masks to create enough material to make a 0.6-mile two-lane road. Just think how many roads could be built, or perhaps redone, with all the disposable masks that people are currently just throwing away.