Plastic Pollution Spawned by Pandemic Already Hitting the Oceans

A new kind of plastic has been showing up in the oceans in recent months—personal protective equipment—joining the discarded plastic straws, bags and other detritus polluting the waters.

The appearance of gloves, masks and other gear in oceans comes as the coronavirus pandemic forces hard trade-offs between health and the environment. Some use of plastic in PPE is necessary, especially for medical personnel. But widespread adoption by the general public is adding to the load of marine plastics.

“We’re creating massive amounts of waste thinking it’s protective,” said Ellie Moss,...