The 50th World Environment Day is around the corner, and it’s time to take a closer look at a critical issue that affects all of us: plastic pollution. It’s hard to fathom, but humanity produces a jaw-dropping 430 million tonnes of plastic each year. Even more concerning is that two-thirds of this plastic is made up of short-lived products that quickly become waste, contaminating our land and oceans and eventually entering our food chain. It’s crucial to join forces and address this crisis to protect the planet for future generations.

The painful reality of mountains, beaches and land being transformed into rubbish dumps due to plastic waste accumulation is becoming more prevalent. The mounting levels of plastic pollution are threatening the survival of life. Plastic is often mistaken for food by animals, which can cause harm to their health as well as ours. It is absolutely imperative to take proactive measures to prevent this situation from spiralling out of control. Failure to do so could result in catastrophic consequences for the environment, human health, and the Earth’s natural beauty.

But fear not! The situation isn’t all doom and gloom. Working together makes it possible to effect change and overcome this crisis. The 50th World Environment Day offers the perfect opportunity to raise awareness, initiate action and explore solutions to tackle the plastic pollution crisis.

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Store carbon dioxide underwater

What if we could suck up carbon dioxide emitted from power plants and store them in large flexible polymer bags deep under the sea instead of releasing it into the air? As stunning as it sounds, scientists argue that the idea isn’t crazy. Pipes will feed the gas into these bags and they will remain for thousands of years undisturbed. Or at least, that’s what we hope (and also pray that sharks don’t sink their teeth into them!).

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World Environment Day (WED), celebrated every year on June 5, is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment. First established in 1972, World Environment Day is of utmost importance to Mother Nature and her inhabitants. It is born of the awareness that the environment is our home, and preserving it for future generations is more crucial than ever today.

Ecosystem restoration!

World Environment Day has grown to become a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually. Each year, WED provides a new theme that NGOs, communities, governments and celebrities worldwide adopt to advocate environmental causes. The theme of World Environment Day 2021 is Ecosystem Restoration. Pakistan will act as global host of the day, this year. World Environment Day 2021 will also see the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

Ecosystem restoration can take many forms: Growing trees, greening cities, building gardens, changing diets or cleaning up rivers and coasts. The need to restore damaged ecosystems is more urgent now than ever. Ecosystems support all life on Earth. The healthier our ecosystems are, the healthier our planet and its people.

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration aims to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean. It can help to end poverty, combat climate change and prevent mass extinction. The UN Decade runs from 2021 through 2030, which is the timeline scientists have identified as the last chance to prevent catastrophic climate change.

Why WED?

Ever since the first WED was celebrated in 1972, more and more people have begun to understand that we need to sustainably manage our planet’s resources and ecosystem. WED provides an occasion to raise awareness and teach friends and family that the physical environment is fragile and indispensable. Pope Francis says in Laudato Si, “This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will.”

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Every year, we throw away enough plastic to circle the Earth four times. Much of that waste ends up in our oceans, where it’s responsible for killing 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals every year. For the good of the planet, it’s time to rethink how we use plastic. Read on to get the facts and learn how you can ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’.

Plastic Pollution Facts

Every year, the world uses 500 billion plastic bags.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), nearly 300 million tonnes of plastic are produced every year.

At least 13 million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans, each year.

In the last decade, the world produced more plastic than in the whole last century.

One of the world’s biggest plastic waste generators, India produces nearly 56 lakh tonnes of plastic annually.

Out of all the plastic we use, 50% is single-use or disposable.

1 million plastic bottles are bought every minute around the world.

Disposable plastic items represent 50% of marine litter.

95% of disposable plastic packaging is wasted.

Plastic can survive in the environment for up to 500 years.

Recycling plastic takes 88% less energy than making new plastic.

Source: worldenvironmentday.global

Did you know that in 1869 John Hyatt invented the first synthetic plastic called ‘celluloid’ for the noble purpose of replacing ivory in the making of billiards balls, so that wild elephants were not killed for their tusks?

Plastic was invented with good intentions! But over the years it has crept into everything. ‘Single-use’ plastic (things that are used only once and thrown away, such as plastic spoons, straws, water bottles, coffee stirrers) reared its ugly head.

The problem with plastic is that it remains in the environment for hundreds and hundreds of years piling up and poisoning our planet as it leaches its chemicals into the soil and water.

Plastic has managed to reach the most remote corners of the Earth, killing millions of animals that consume them, but its most devastating effects can be seen in our oceans where tonnes of garbage have collected and created ‘islands’ of toxic trash.

Palak Gupta, a 24-year-old artist, says, “The animals I have drawn here are either threatened or endangered, and the plastic bags around their heads, are just adding to their miseries. But we can change this by cutting down our plastic consumption. In fact, make your own cloth bags. Use old scrap cloth. Not only is it fun, you can make your bag look the way you want it to.”

India hosts World Environment Day 2018 World Environment Day, a UN Environment-led global event that takes place on June 5 every year, is the single largest celebration of our environment. It is a day for everyone to take ownership of their environment and to actively engage in the protection of our earth. India is the global host of World Environment Day 2018. This year’s theme, ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’, urges governments and individuals to come together and explore sustainable alternatives to urgently reduce the production and excessive use of single-use plastic polluting our oceans, damaging marine life and threatening human health. “Indian philosophy and lifestyle has long been rooted in the concept of co-existence with nature. If each and every one of us does at least one green good deed daily towards our Green Social Responsibility, there will be billions of green good deeds daily on the planet,” says Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Source: worldenvironmentday.global

But it’s not a hopeless situation. Each one of us CAN help to stop this human addiction to plastic. Here are some easy ways to start:

Say ‘no’ to straws
Plastic straws are used on a large scale and usually end up in our oceans. A distressing video of a sea turtle with a plastic straw lodged deep in its nose recently went viral. Refuse plastic straws and ask your friends and family to do the same. The next time you have a juice or coconut water and are offered a straw, just refuse it and explain why you did.

Befriend a bottle
Don’t leave home without a reusable water bottle and you will never have to buy a plastic one again. If you have old plastic bottles, reuse them or turn them into pen stands or bird feeders… or better still, grow plants in them!

Grab a bag
When you know you’re going to the shops — carry your own bag. When buying food or drink, take a steel or reusable plastic container with you. When out shopping for clothes and shoes, take a backpack. A sudden purchase? Make sure your handbag always has a foldable shopping bag inside. Where there is a will, there is a way — recently a shop, Ecoposro, in Goa, went ‘trash free’. It can be done!

Consume less
Buy less plastic. Buy it only when you really have to. Recycle! The less plastic you use, the less plastic ends up in landfills and in our oceans.

Take care of yourself
Synthetic plastics release toxins into the food and drink that it contains, creating serious health complications such as cancer. For your health and that of the planet, use eco-friendly alternatives to plastic.

Drive the change! Make sure your parents, teachers and friends join the good fight against plastic pollution, too.

Text: Sanctuary Nature Foundation

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