Keep America Beautiful officials remind residents that dropping gloves and masks in parking lots and streets is not curbing the spread of COVID-19 in communities. 

Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful reminds residents that gloves and masks are not curbing the spread of disease if they are dropped in parking lots and streets.

“Keep a bag in your vehicle to place used gloves and disposable masks into, tie up and dispose in your trash can. Please remember, others are put at risk if they have to pick up these contaminated personal protection items,” read a post to the KALB Facebook page.

KALB is a part of the national nonprofit Keep America Beautiful, which has also called for Americans to properly dispose of cleaning supplies and personal protection equipment, including used sanitizing wipes, masks and plastic gloves. These belong in the trash, not on the ground, officials with Keep America Beautiful said.

“We have been hearing from more and more people who are seeing wipes, gloves and other related items on streets and walking trails, or being left behind near supermarkets and pharmacies,” said Keep America Beautiful President and CEO Helen Lowman.

“The basic rules for proper trash disposal are taking on greater importance, given the COVID-19 virus,” she said. “These materials are being used to protect us from possible contamination from COVID-19. If they are not disposed of properly, we are risking the spread of this life-threatening virus.”

If a store provides wipes to clean off a cart, it likely has a trash receptacle nearby, officials with the organization said. If consumers are carrying their own wipes or gloves, make sure to properly dispose of used gloves, wipes and masks in a trash receptacle at the store or have a bag inside your vehicle to place the items in to dispose of at home, officials said.

“No one wants to spread the disease, so we must be careful to properly dispose of these materials,” Lowman said.

She also discouraged people from picking up wipes or gloves they see littered, because they could be contaminated.

“If you used the PPE, it’s your responsibility to dispose of it,” she said.

Keep America Beautiful sent an urgent alert this week to its more than 650 nationwide affiliates, asking them to spread the word among their millions of volunteers.

“We will get through this (by) working together and looking out for one another,” Lowman said.

She understands some communities have suspended recycling programs because of worker safety and other limitations. If you or someone in your home has tested positive for COVID-19, Lowman advised not recycling your recyclables and instead placing them in a bag that is securely closed to be discarded in your trash container. This also applies to any used cleaning supplies, paper towels, tissues or PPE generated within a home or business with someone who has tested positive.

Visit www.kab.org to find out more about the Keep America Beautiful.