CONCERNS have been raised over the use of disposable PPE after plastic gloves and face masks were found on a Hampshire beach.

Volunteers and team members from the Final Straw Foundation have highlighted the increase in volume of coronavirus related disposable PPE litter on city streets, the countryside and washing up on south coast beaches.

Since lockdown lifted and it has been possible to resume beach cleans and countryside clean ups, the team have been regularly picking up disposable gloves and face masks.

It is believed the items are been dropped by people or falling out of vehicles when people visit visit the coast or countryside.

Many of them are washing up on shores after entering our local waters after being blown there from roadsides and car parks or washed down storm drains in towns and out to sea.

CEO and founder of the Final Straw Foundation, Bianca Carr, has been "horrified" by the number of items of disposable PPE she has noticed entering the environment.

"We have revisited one particular stretch of shoreline on Hayling Island a few times since lockdown lifted, and we regularly pick up at least 5-10 single-use masks from the high tide line and in the vegetation by the beach," she said.

"This is new since the pandemic started and is probably only a tiny indication of the actual numbers of these items that are in the sea."

Director of Operations at the Final Straw Foundation, Lissie Pollard added: "We are also noticing a lot more disposable gloves littering our countryside and beaches.

"Just this last week we picked up over 500 plastic gloves from near a petrol station that is very close to Langstone Harbour, which is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation.

"This is unacceptable and we have to act now. 300 years from now the Covid19 pandemic will be ancient history, but these items will still be floating around in our seas and endangering wildlife."

The team is keen to note that disposable items of PPE will be a part of many people’s lives for the foreseeable future to help protect against Covid-19, but there are alternative options available.