THURROCK Council's leader, Cllr Rob Gledhill, has called on residents who use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to be considerate and dispose of equipment safely and correctly, after gloves and other facemasks have been found on Thurrock's streets.

Cllr Gledhill said: "Discarded PPE in the borough is a real health hazard to Thurrock residents.

"PPE is not just being used to stop people catching coronavirus, but also to stop them spreading it. By littering PPE, it completely defeats the purpose for its use and there's a risk of spreading infection to local people and other frontline staff.

Advice for disposal of PPE says that it can be got rid of through normal waste collection services, but there are guidelines.

The PPE should be disposed of in a separate waste bag and placed in the rubbish bin within the property.

If the PPE has come into contact with a person who has been showing coronavirus symptoms or has a positive diagnosis then the waste should all be placed into a yellow bag, if possible, if not a separate bag and kept safely for three days.

After three days this should be sealed and stored within the property. A second waste bag should be started. At seven days, the first sealed bag should be placed outside in the general waste and the second bag should be sealed. This should be kept in the property for three days before being placed into the dustbin.

"I ask those who use PPE outside of the workplace to think about the consequences of their actions before they irresponsibly dump possibly unsanitary, used equipment on our streets.

"This doesn't just impact residents, it also exposes our dedicated street cleaning teams who are on the frontline working to protect our communities from coronavirus, and makes our streets a mess again."

For more advice and information, visit: thurrock.gov.uk/coronavirus-covid-19