A new wave of pollution is littering our streets and shores, disposable face masks and plastic gloves.

The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) has surged around the world, with one study estimating a monthly usage of 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves globally.

"The amount of PPE we're finding, even just anecdotally walking through our streets, is astounding," said Alex Ferron, Chapter Chair of the San Diego Surfrider Foundation.

Making matters worse, the pandemic has impacted some of the traditional methods used to tackle pollution.

Last year, Surfrider San Diego's beach clean-ups removed more than 16,000 pounds of trash from the coastline. But with social distancing laws, the nonprofit fears that number will be drastically lower in 2020.

"Plastic pollution hasn't stopped. Plastic is being used, if not more than ever," said Ferron.

The French nonprofit Opération Mer Propre is documenting PPE waste in the Mediterranean Sea, sharing videos and pictures of gloves and face coverings littering the seafloor.

Ferron says the pandemic also reversed other progress made by environmental groups.

"Initially, we saw a big trend away from reusable items at all, my coffee shop wouldn't take my mug, my grocery store wouldn't take my bag."

Ferron says she was OK with this safety precaution early on because little was known about the virus.

But now, she points to some of the latest CDC information, which says COVID is mainly spread from person-to-person, within close contact. Transmission through contaminated surfaces has not been documented.

A health expert statement signed by over 100 scientists around the world stated that reusable systems could be used safely by employing basic hygiene.

To try and tackle the problem, Surfrider San Diego launched a solo cleanup campaign, encouraging individuals to clean old and new waste polluting our communities.

"Empower people to go out and pick up trash. In their neighborhood, in their parks, at their local beach, wherever they feel comfortable, and do their part," said Ferron.

The nonprofit has guidelines on how to do this safely, urging people to wear a mask, use reusable gloves, and a trash grabber if possible. Also, they say to bring two bags to separate PPE from recyclables.

Those who can't get out and clean can do their part by making sure their PPE ends up in a trash can and not the ground.

Ferron says whether or not you live near a beach, you can make a difference.

"It's not just an ocean issue, it's an environment issue," Ferron said.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — From an elaborate ceremonial wedding dress to the uniform of a player for the NFL, clothing can tell the story of a person as well as a time and place.

“It says a great deal about what's happening at the moment,” said Sarah Linn, co-curator of The Stories We Wear, a new exhibit at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia.

Inside the exhibit, hundreds of items stretching back more than 2,500 years show not just what people wore, but what they experienced at the time.

“It says so much about the culture in which they're living, about their time period,” Linn said.

Like these Samurai items used during a children’s celebration.

Some belonged to a California family who worked hard to keep them even as they were sent to a Japanese internment camp during World War II.

“So, it tells this wonderful story both about Children’s Day and about the importance of Samurai and that history, but it also tells this really important story about American history and how we hold on to our history,” Linn said.

There’s also this dress on display, which was sewn during the Great Depression.

An elastic waistband and a hem that could be raised and lowered allowed the dress to be shared by multiple women in a family.

“This was in the Depression, when money might be a little bit tight, and the idea of a well-made garment needing to fit multiple members of the family might make sense,” Linn said.

There’s the gown of an opera star worn by Marian Anderson and a dress fit for a princess, like the one which belonged to Grace Kelly.

There is also an ensemble fit for a queen—a drag queen, that is.

“This one embodies so many parts of performance,” Linn said. “Drag itself is performance.”

However, the museum wanted everyone to get involved.

Using the #storieswewear hashtag, people anywhere can share pictures of what they wear and the stories behind it, as some current COVID-era nurses did, which then can appear on interactive monitors in the exhibit if selected.

“Here is an opportunity for people to share heirlooms and keepsakes that have been passed down through their families, that are important to them,” Linn said.

However, it’s not just about sharing what you wear on your skin, but what your skin might be wearing, too. Tattoos are also included in the exhibit.

“We wanted to talk about permanent forms of adornment,” Linn said. “We tend to get tattoos that embody something of our personal identity, and so we wanted people to share their stories about their tattoos.”

The exhibit runs at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia through mid-June. It can also be seen on the museum’s website, which you can access by clicking here.

With the start of the baseball season on hold and personal protection equipment for healthcare workers in short supply, the company that manufactures MLB uniforms says it will instead manufacture hospital masks and gowns at one of its factories.

Fanatics, an online retailer of college and professional sports apparel,

said Thursday

that it will begin making masks and gowns at their manufacturing plant in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Michael Rubin, the company's chairman,

tweeted

Thursday that the company plans to make one million masks and gowns and distribute them to healthcare workers across Pennsylvania. Rubin said he hopes to soon expand the distribution of the equipment to hospitals in New Jersey and New York.

The masks are made from the

same material used to make MLB jerseys.

According to

MLB.com,

the first set of equipment was made from the pinstriped material usually used to make uniforms for the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies.

The masks and gowns are classified as "level 1," meaning they will only be used for low-risk, non-surgical procedures for a single use.

According to ESPN, the cost of producing the equipment will cost Fanatics about $3 million, in addition to the lost opportunity cost of no longer manufacturing baseball uniforms.