2017
UN Declares War on Ocean Plastic
By Baher KamalReprint
The world ’ s largest beach clean-up in history on Versova beach in Mumbai , India . Credit : UNEP
ROME , Feb 23 2017 ( IPS ) - The available data is enough for the United Nations to literally declare war on oceans plastic : more than 8 million tonnes of leaks into their waters each year – equal to dumping a garbage truck of plastic every minute , wreaking havoc on marine wildlife , fisheries and tourism , and costing at least 8 billion dollars in damage to marine ecosystems .
In fact , the Nairobi-based United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) on February 23 launched an unprecedented global campaign to eliminate major sources of marine litter : micro-plastics in cosmetics and the excessive , wasteful usage of single-use plastic by the year 2022 .
Launched at the Economist World Ocean Summit in Bali , the # CleanSeas campaign urges governments to pass plastic reduction policies ; targeting industry to minimize plastic packaging and redesign products ; and calling on consumers to change their throwaway habits – before irreversible damage is done to the seas .
Erik Solheim , UNEP ’ s Executive Director , said , “ It is past time that we tackle the plastic problem that blights our oceans . Plastic pollution is surfing onto Indonesian
In bathroom shelves across the world lie toothpaste and facial scrubs packed with tiny plastic pieces that threaten marine life . Up to 51 trillion microplastic particles are already in our oceans ! Credit : UNEP beaches , settling onto the ocean floor at the North Pole , and rising through the food chain onto our dinner tables . We ’ ve stood by too long as the problem has gotten worse . It must stop .” Throughout the year , the # CleanSeas campaign will be announcing ambitious measures by countries and businesses to eliminate micro-plastics from personal care products , ban or tax single-use bags , and dramatically reduce other disposable plastic items .
The # CleanSeas campaign is a global movement targeting governments , industry and consumers to urgently reduce the production and excessive use of plastic that is polluting the earth ’ s oceans , damaging marine life and threatening human health . “ We don ’ t need to invent or negotiate something new , we just need to have action to implement what we already agreed upon .” - Isabella Lovin , Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden .
The UN environment body aims to transform all spheres of change – habits , practices , standards and policies around the globe to dramatically reduce marine litter and the harm it causes .
So far , ten countries have already joined the campaign with far-reaching pledges to turn the plastic tide : Belgium , Costa Rica , France , Grenada , Indonesia , Norway , Panama , Saint Lucia , Sierra Leone and Uruguay . Pledges to Turn the Plastic Tide
Indonesia has committed to slash its marine litter by a massive 70 per cent by 2025 ; Uruguay will tax single-use plastic bags later this year . Costa Rica will take measures to dramatically reduce single-use plastic through better waste management and education .
And Vidar Helgesen , Minister of Climate and the Environment of Norway , said : “ Keeping our seas clean and our marine life safe from plastic is a matter of urgency for Norway . Marine plastic litter is a rapidly increasing threat to marine life , seafood safety and negatively affects the lives of people in coastal areas all around the world . Our oceans cannot wait any longer .”
Eneida de León , Minister of Housing , Territorial Planning and Environment of Uruguay , underlined : “ Our goal is to discourage the use of plastic bags through regulations , give an alternative for workers in the waste sector , and develop education plans regarding the impact of the use of plastic
22 Africa Water , Sanitation & Hygiene • May - June 2017