According to Kim Ha-neul, it takes 1,500.

It may sound like a lot, but when you take into consideration the WHO directive to change a disposable mask every four hours, the number of masks you use quickly adds up. 

The South Korean furniture design student was saddened by the waste that we are currently producing with disposable masks and wanted to find a solution. As most masks are made from polypropylene he decided to melt them down to their base material, and create an eco-friendly stool. 

“Plastic is recyclable, so why don’t we recycle face masks, which are made of plastic?”

In June he set up a mask collection box outside of his school and by September he had collected 10,000 used masks. Using a strict four day quarantine method for the masks – to avoid possible contamination – they are then stripped of metal and elastic before being melted down using a heat gun.

His ‘Stack and Stack’ stools come in various colours, dictated by the colours of the masks he collects and the design piles up easily due to their functional design.