Earth Day
On April 22, 2024, we will celebrate the 54th Earth Day. The event began in 1970 in the United States, and is now marked around the world. This year's Earth Day theme is Planet vs. Plastics. This article covers some of the basic facts about ocean plastic pollution.
Plastic pollution is one of the greatest threats to ocean health worldwide. Between 4 and 12 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year. Plastic bottles take up to 450 years to decompose in landfill. The good news? There are many solutions to plastic pollution that you can participate in today.
Reduce your use of single-use plastics. What are single-use plastics? Single-use plastics are used only once before they are thrown away. The best way to do this is by refusing any single-use plastics that you do not need. Up to 50% of plastics that we use are single-use. We’re drowning in single-use plastics! Bangladesh became the first country in the world to ban single-use plastic bags in 2002.
Reduce means to minimise the amount of waste we create. Here are some of the ways you can do this: only buy what you need, choose products with less packaging and buy in bulk. Let's say you're going to buy snacks for a school event. Instead of buying individually packaged snacks, you could choose to buy a big bag of chips. This way, you're reducing the amount of packaging waste generated from individual snack packs.
Reuse refers to using items more than once. Refill a water bottle with water from home instead of buying a new one. Update your computer rather than throwing it out and getting a replacement. Do away with plastic bags and choose reusable, environmentally-friendly bags instead.
Recycle means putting a product to a new use instead of throwing it away. Materials that can be recycled include glass, cardboard, aluminium and lead batteries.
Participate in a beach or river cleanup. You can simply go to the beach or waterway and collect plastic waste on your own or with friends or family. You can join a local organization’s cleanup.
Spread the message. Stay informed on issues related to plastic pollution and help make others aware of the problem.
Plastic pollution is an environmental, wildlife, climate and human health issue. People and communities across the world are finally waking up to the fact that plastic pollution impacts everything. You can find out what's happening near you via this map.
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Earth Day was observed by various NGOS at the Government Botanical Garden in the Nilgiris, India on Monday, Apr 22, 2024. The event was held in collaboration with the Rotary, Lions, Rotaract Club, Muddy Boots Nilgiris, United Nations Ecosystem Restoration Project, INTACH Nilgiri Chapter (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage).
References for Earth Day 2024:
EARTHDAY.ORG: Earth Day: The Official Site
United Nation: International Mother Earth Day