The COVID-19 pandemic has generated millions of tonnes of plastic waste, including discarded disposable face masks, gloves and protective medical gear, but the true extent of the problem in Australia is yet to be revealed.

The World Health Organisation said tens of thousands of tonnes of extra medical waste from the response to the pandemic has strained waste systems around the world and is threatening human and environmental health.

From the start of the pandemic to November 2021, about 87,000 tonnes of protective gear – the equivalent of the weight of several hundred blue whales – was ordered worldwide through a United Nations portal. Almost all of this would have ended up as waste.

Similarly, more than 140 million COVID test kits, with the potential to generate 2600 tonnes of mostly plastic waste, have been shipped worldwide. About 8 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally, enough to produce 144,000 tonnes of waste in the form of glass vials, syringes, needles and safety boxes, the WHO estimates.

In Australia, there is very limited data available on the increased use and disposal of medical waste, prompting Clean Up Australia to launch a nationwide citizen science project on March 6 to measure the extent of Australia’s face mask litter.

The not-for-profit’s events usually draw about 1 million volunteers, and the March project will ask participants to keep a tally of the number of masks they collect in their clean-up.

Clean Up Australia chair Pip Kiernan said “we know the amount of plastic waste has surged, and we know our habits have changed in a way that hasn’t been kind to the environment.

“Our uptake of single-use items is enormous. It’s not just PPE and masks, we’re also using takeaway packaging and ordering items to our homes.