Evaluation of the Environmental and Economic Impact Deriving from the Adoption of a Reuse Strategy for Disposable FFP2

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of emergency response systems to personal protective equipment shortages, particularly FFP2 masks. In that context the Milan Fire and Rescue Service has developed a novel method for regenerating and reusing disposable FFP2 masks, evaluating its safety and effectiveness through comprehensive biological, mechanical, and stress tests, guaranteeing this way up to 10 safe reuses per mask. The method not only ensures personnel safety and uninterrupted emergency service but also yields significant environmental and economic benefits, minimizing the environmental footprint associated with masks life cycle and leading to substantial financial savings to the entities willing to adopt it, through reduced procurement and disposal costs. Benefits linked to the regeneration method are validated in this work by three distinct case studies, conducted within the Milan province and encompassing three distinct entities. This study provides evidence that through regeneration it is possible to achieve environmental and economic impact reductions of up to 90% across various operational settings and presents a groundbreaking and sustainable approach to FFP2 mask reuse, offering a viable solution to address potential shortages during future pandemics.