The president of Vitacore, Mikhail Moore says at Saskatoon City Hospital alone, they collected 22 thousand masks from February to May. Moore says being able to recycle masks is a win for both the environment and hospitals.

“We calculated it out that if you lined masks, ear loop to ear loop, you could reach the moon 6.5 times with the amount masks that Canada used alone in 2021, so obviously it’s a massive problem.”

Recycling PPE at hospitals in the Metro Vancouver area and at Saskatoon’s City Hospital was the focus of a pilot project by Burnaby-based Vitacore earlier this year.

The project focused on recycling single-use face masks and CAN95 respirators.  The pilot was to see if such a program would be feasible and now that the pilot has ended, the plan to expand the program to more bins across the country.

Moore says the project is a win for health workers too as they need a good news story and being able to find a home for masks and respirators is a good story.

The materials from the collected masks will be given a second life as they’ll be used in construction materials to reinforce concrete or siding for buildings.