Beat Plastic Pollution is theme for World Environment Day 2018, the World is coming together to reduce single-use plastic pollution. World Environment Day occurs on 5th of June every year for encouraging awareness and positive action for protection of our environment. This year 2018, India is the global host of World Environment Day which will take place on June 5.
Beat Plastic Pollution – if you can’t reuse it, refuse it
#BeatPlasticPollution UN, Urging governments, industry, communities, and individuals to come together and explore sustainable alternatives and urgently reduce the production and excessive use of single-use plastic polluting our oceans, damaging marine life and threatening human health. The theme invites us all to consider how we can make changes in our everyday lives to reduce the heavy burden of plastic pollution on our natural places, our wildlife – and our own health. While plastic has many valuable uses, we have become over-reliant on single-use or disposable plastic – with severe environmental consequences.
Plastic Pollution – is threat to our Nation
India is one of the world’s biggest plastic waste generators, producing nearly 56 lakh tonnes of plastic annually. Nearly 6,000 tonnes of plastic waste remains uncollected across the country daily, adding to the environmental woes. Governments have time and again reiterated their commitment to reduce plastic pollution. Plastic pollution in India has reached unprecedented levels due to wide usage of plastic in daily lives, be it industrial or domestic usage. There is a stark imbalance between the amount of plastic used daily, and the amount recycled with only 27% of plastic produced being recycled, leading to a large amount of plastic waste lying either idly as garbage mounds or dumped in oceans.
Plastic Pollution Facts -:
- Every year the world uses 500 billion plastic bags
- Each year, at least 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans, the equivalent of a full garbage truck every minute.
- In the last decade, we produced more plastic than in the whole last century
- 50 percent of the plastic we use is single-use or disposable
- We buy 1 million plastic bottles every minute
- Plastic makes up 10% of all of the waste we generate
How To Beat Plastic Pollution?
Most of all, World Environment Day is a day of everyone around the world to take ownership of their environment and to actively engage in the protection of our earth. This Environment Day, Let’s Beat Plastic Pollution Together. We just need to do some simple things, it can help to reduce plastic pollution.
1. Pick up any plastic you see the next time you go for a walk on the beach.
2. Bring your own shopping bags to the supermarket.
3. Bring your own coffee mug.
4. Chose reusable lunch bags.
5. Replace single-use plastic.
6. Refuse disposable plastic
7. Refuse single-serving packaging.
What else can we do to Beat Plastic Pollution? Share your ideas on social media using the hashtag #BeatPlasticPollution. For more details visit World Environment Day 2018 www.worldenvironmentday.global