For those of us out there old enough, perhaps you might recall, oh, it’s probably 25 or more years ago, when syringes were washing up on the beaches of the Jersey Shore?
People were afraid to walk on the beach for fear of stepping on the needles and contracting some sort of disease.
It was a reasonable reaction back then when the medical waste was washing ashore, just as it would still be today.
Medical waste is nothing fun to come across — anywhere — and that’s why the proper disposal of it is so important.
Yet here we are, in 2021, about a year into the most serious medical pandemic in a century and somehow, people are disposing of masks as though they simply disappear when they hit asphalt.
Quite frankly, this is disgusting, irresponsible and downright unacceptable.
Perhaps you aren’t noticing it. So the next time you’re out and about, just look around the streets. Doesn’t matter what town you’re in, you’re going to notice. Think of it like when you buy a new car — and all of a sudden, you notice it when others are driving the same car as you.
Those cars were there all along, but now you catch it seemingly all the time.
Take the same concept with the disposed-of masks.
And it all begs the question — why are people being so careless and thoughtless with the masks?
Because every time one drops a used mask onto the street, it’s the equivalent to a diabetic throwing a needle onto the street post-injection.
It’s medical waste all the same.
Please folks, stop throwing masks away carelessly.
No one (trash collectors, DPW workers) should ever have to pick up waste in this manner.
Is it really asking folks for too much just to hold onto the masks until you can find a trash bin? Think about it.
Learn more about the writer ...
Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.