Plastic pollution is simply everywhere. UNEP estimates that we produce 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, and if current trends continue, by 2050 there could be over a billion tonnes of primary plastic produced annually. About a third of all plastics are used in packaging, including single use food and beverage containers, of which about 85 per cent end up in landfills. Anything from 100 to 200 million tonnes of plastics and microplastics has entered the worlds rivers and oceans where further long-term damage to the biosphere is taking place.
There is clearly a problem with plastics and systemic change is needed at every level to change this huge and growing threat to the environment. Today the UN is deeply engaged in global negotiations for a comprehensive legally-binding agreement to address the full life cycle of plastic including production, design and disposal - and many campaigns are ongoing around the world to raise awareness on the dangers and scale of plastic usage and pollution.
The UNEP-led ISLANDS Programme, which is working with 33 Small Island Developing States around the world to manage plastics and other toxic waste, has launched a Call to Action on Plastics and is inviting individuals and communities in to share the actions they have taken to reduce plastic pollution. This could be anything from a personal decision to reduce plastic usage in your daily life or a community river or coastal clean-up campaign. There are so many ideas and so many possible actions that every individual can, and ultimately must, take to reduce the plastic burden on the environment.
The venue to share your ideas or stories and actions, and also see what other people around the world are doing, is the ISLANDS-supported Plastics Community on the Green Forum. The most inspiring ideas and submissions will be featured in the upcoming ISLANDS Voices video series.
Sign up on the Green Forum here and join the ISLANDS Plastics Community! Together, we can turn the tide on plastic waste.
About the ISLANDS
The Implementing Sustainable Low and Non-Chemical Development in Small Island Developing States (ISLANDS) Programme is a $515-million, five-year initiative backed by the Global Environment Facility (providing $61 million), supporting 33 Small Island Developing States in four regions - the Atlantic, Caribbean, Indian and Pacific Ocean to reduce and manage toxic waste in their territories. ISLANDS is led by the United Nations Environment Programme, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the Inter-American Development Bank.