Communities Unite Against Plastic Pollution as the World Marks Environment Day

Communities around the world came together on Tuesday for the single largest annual celebration of our environment – World Environment Day.

This year, under the theme of ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’, people were encouraged to take a critical look at their own relation to single-use plastic and make real efforts to break their dependency on disposable plastic.

This year’s World Environment Day will mark the culmination of a global campaign from the United Nations to raise awareness and inspire action on plastic pollution. 

“I am proud to see what is taking place this World Environment Day. It is incredibly encouraging to see communities everywhere take responsibility for the tide of plastic pollution that is threatening our ecosystems,” said Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment. “From clean-ups on every continent to far-reaching policy agreements, this World Environment Day has made a great difference in how we view the production, consumption, and discharge of single-use plastics.”

With a focus on the future, UN Environment also launched a groundbreaking Report: “Single-use Plastics: A roadmap for Sustainability” today. The report is an unprecedented global outlook on efforts to beat plastic pollution, providing analyses of case studies from more than 60 countries to present the world’s first comprehensive study of the global movement to beat plastic pollution.

Governments around the world are stepping up to the challenge of tackling the tide of plastic pollution, implementing measures to mitigate future impacts on their nations. Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi made the bold commitment to eliminate all single-use plastics in the country by 2022, in an unprecedented ambitious measure to beat plastic pollution. 

From businesses, NGO’s and major sports bodies, private sector leaders are making bold commitments to join the movement against single-use plastics.

World Environment Day is, above all, a global celebration of our collective connection with nature. On every continent, communities came together to highlight their vision of a sustainable future. 

Kenya marked the World Environment Day with a call for a renewed commitment by the government, industry and conservation groups to eradicate plastic waste choking vital ecosystems like freshwater bodies.

Keriako Tobiko, the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Forestry, said Kenya is on course to contain pollution linked to the poor disposal of plastics thanks to punitive legislation, public awareness, and investments in recycling projects.

“Poor disposal of plastics is poisoning natural wonders like coral reefs and marine wildlife. We must, therefore, come together and explore sustainable alternatives to reduce production and excessive use of single-use plastics which is a threat to the environment and human health,” added Tobiko.

According to Tobiko, Kenya is expected to produce 33 billion tonnes of plastic by the year 2050 while a bulk of that quantity will end up in oceans.

Kenya has domesticated global best practices to enhance management of plastic waste that has soared amid rapid industrialization.