Burning Plastic, What Could Go Wrong? German Govt to Burn €6 Billion Worth of Expired Facemasks
It just doesn’t get any better than this.
Not only did the hard left-leaning government of Germany piss away roughly $5.9 billion (€6 billion) worth of expired and defective facemasks, the same German government officially brags that the burning of garbage is a cracker-jack way of “generating electricity and heat.”
But what the Germans aren’t telling us is that these masks are largely manufactured of petroleum-based products. Essentially, these masks are mostly made of plastic.
Noted by reporter Alexey Anishchuk of Bloomberg.com, nearly 800 million will “thermally dispose” (AKA: “Burn”) for no other reason than the overwhelming number of perfectly serviceable masks are beyond their sell-by dates.
As reported (emphasis mine);
Germany is set to burn almost 800 million unused face masks purchased in the first months of the pandemic because they have passed their sell-by date.
Initial calls for tenders have been issued for candidates to “thermally dispose” of about 730 million surgical and 60 million FFP-2 expired medical face covers, the health ministry’s press service said on Friday, confirming an earlier report by Der Spiegel magazine. In addition, about 20% of masks procured since March 2020 were deemed to have quality defects, the ministry said.
Stop blaming the military. During my 20 years, the overwhelming ingredient to burn pits was wood and paper.
Germany spent €6 billion ($5.9 billion) on face covers at the start of the pandemic, according to Spiegel. Former Health Minister Jens Spahn was criticized at the time for excessive procurement and for using personal connections to buy masks, steps he defended by citing major supply shortages and a desperation to obtain protective coverings swiftly.
How interesting. So, I decided to look into what exactly surgical masks and the FFP-2 masks are actually made of. I had the initial thought that there’s at least some petroleum-based products in their manufacture. Hoo-boy, was I wrong.
When it comes to generic surgical masks, according to the everything medical supplies ThomasNet.com;
Surgical masks, once simply a strip of cloth tied around the face of a doctor or nurse, are today manufactured using non-woven fabrics made from plastics like polypropylene to filter and protect.
That takes care of the standard surgical masks. So, how about those fancy-shmancy FFP-2 masks?
Product structure: The Filtering NR Protection Mask consists of the mask body, nose piece, and ear straps, distance adjusting plastic clasp. Mean Material: 40% Non-woven fabric, 60% melt-blown fabric.
Well, that was about as clear as mud. So, what the hell is non-woven fabric and melt-blown fabric?
Polyester is the most frequently used fibres in the United States; olefin and nylon are used for their strength, and cotton and rayon are used for absorbency. Some acrylic, acetate, and vinyon are also being used.
In other words, an awful lot of glorified plastic.
Anyhow, so what is “Melt-blown fabric”? SunoTex manufacturing of Communist China, plainly states;
Melt-blown fabric is a kind of thermoplastic polymer material.
I’m quite sure it’s more complicated than that, but I would think that a degree in chemistry isn’t required to understand this.
Waste incineration is one of the main pillars of waste management in Germany. The thermal treatment renders the waste inert and sanitises it (pollutant sink).
Waste incineration also offers the possibility of generating electricity and heat.
Regardless if it’s burned at a power plant to generate electricity, or in a standard burn pit, incinerating nearly a billion pieces of medical equipment largely manufactured from plastic… what could go wrong?
