Plastic Trash

More than 430 million tons of plastic are produced each year, two-thirds of which is cast aside
as waste after just one use.

If trends continue, plastic waste will triple by 2060, with dire consequences for both ecosystems and human health.

Eleven million metric tons of plastics enter our ocean alone each year, in addition to the estimated
200 million metric tons that already flow through our marine environments, per data from the Ocean Conservatory.

At the current rate of production, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by mid-century,
according to Nikola Simpson, Head of the United Nations Development Programmes Barbados and
Eastern Caribbean Blue Economy Accelerator Lab.

“We just keep producing, producing, producing plastic,” she says.

The UN Environment Programme is determined to help the world avert such a catastrophic future.

UNEP’s 2023 report, “Turning off the Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution
and create a circular economy,” maps out a plan to reduce global plastic waste by 80% within two decades.

Here are five reasons why the world needs to beat plastic pollution —
and how everyone can step up to protect our planet for generations to come.

Source: United Nation Foundation