Germany is going to burn nearly 800 million unused masks bought in the first months of the pandemic because they have expired.

The Ministry of Health announced tenders for the thermal disposal of about 730 million surgical and 60 million FFP-2 medical masks with expired expiration dates. In addition, about 20 percent of the masks purchased since March 2020 were found to be defective, the ministry said.

According to Spiegel, Germany spent 6 billion euros on face masks at the start of the pandemic. Former Health Minister Jens Spahn was criticized at the time for over-buying and using personal connections to buy them.