For a long time, plastics were considered to be something that causes pollution and was avoided by many of the environmentally conscious. However, plastics do have their benefits, such as they are cheap, can be quickly produced in many conditions, and are disposable and burnable.
I noted on Shoebat.com that those who are financially savvy may want to pay attention to the plastics market because COVID-19 would bring about a boom in production for plastics as people see out disposable, cheap ways to protect themselves from the virus and medical professions demand the same for their workplaces.
Just as it was predicted, France24 notes that due to the COVID-19 outbreak, plastics manufacturers are seeing a boom in production and a resurgence of interest in their products.
As the use of masks and gloves sky-rocketed to protect the humanity from the coronavirus pandemic, their impact on environment also rose, with the worrying consumption of plastic and its disposal. Many fear the progress of eliminating single-use plastic is now being undone, as these protection tools are already being seen polluting the environment. (source)
Expect this trend to continue throughout the next two years and grow as fear of spreading the virus continues to increase.
Americans may be environmentally conscious, but when given a choice between potentially getting sick and acting in a way that is “for the environment”, the former naturally takes precedent, and the public response by most people to COVID-19 has shown this.