Existing Solutions

Current N95 masks are not biodegradable and are not sustainable because they are made using polypropylene fibers, so when they are discarded, they contribute to plastic pollution. A treatment of using hydrogen peroxide vapor to sterilize N95 masks and allow them to be reused up to twenty times exists, but this treatment requires specialized equipment that is not available everywhere, giving the mask generally low reusability. While the comfort of the mask is not as important of a consideration as its effectiveness, N95 users often complain about poor fits and discomfort after wearing them through a day, and breathability decreases after multiple uses, so these aspects of the mask could be improved.

Cloth masks are considered as an alternative to N95 masks simply because they are far cheaper. By itself, a cloth mask is not nearly as effective in filtering air particles since it is not composed of multiple layers of different properties to trap particles of various sizes. However, cloth masks can be modified with special filters resulting in more comfortable fits with effectiveness comparable to traditional N95 masks. This allows the cloth portion of the mask to be washed and reused indefinitely, which is a large improvement over N95 masks.

While cheaper than N95 masks, surgical masks are not as effective as the traditional masks and do not offer N95-level protection against air pollution caused by forest fires, and they are also made with polypropylene, so they are not biodegradable and are not reusable.