Globally, the United Nations joins other environmental campaigners to celebrate Earth Day, yesterday 22 April 2018, under the theme ‘End Plastic Pollution” saying rubbish and pollution are a problem at many World Heritage sites.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said that an increase in tourism means that more people are leaving trash at the world’s most iconic sites, so people need to learn to visit sites without leaving a trace behind.
According to Greenpeace that defends the natural world and promotes peace by investigating, exposing and confronting environmental abuse, and championing solutions, said that over one million individuals have signed petitions, globally to end plastic pollution.
These petitions, they said in a release, was taken to stores and restaurants, and posted photos of ridiculous packaging on social media to call out corporations for their massive single-use plastic footprints.
To mark the day, Greenpeace is urging individuals worldwide to contribute to a “Million Acts of Blue” escalating actions that push businesses to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics as part of the #BreakFreeFromPlastic movement.
“We are reaching a tipping point on single-use plastics, and it is time for any corporation that cares about a healthy planet to go beyond recycling alone. Throwaway plastics continue to pour into our oceans, our waterways, and our communities at an alarming rate,” said Graham Forbes, a Plastics Campaigner at Greenpeace USA.
“This Earth Day, it is time to confront the reality that we cannot simply recycle our way out of this mess. We must address the corporate addiction to single-use plastics and move in a better direction.”
Throughout the month of April, Greenpeace and other activists around the world have taken action to take the lead in rejecting single-use plastics.
Greenpeace Africa is working with volunteers in South Africa, Senegal, Cameroon and Kenya, to conduct beach and town cleanups and brand audits to identify the companies responsible for local plastic pollution.
It is clear that Greenpeace and the other organizations behind #BreakFreeFromPlastic not only want to change consumer behavior, but also increase the pressure on companies to take more responsibility for plastics.
As Global Coordinator for #BreakFreeFromPlastic, Von Hernandez put it, “Increasing public revulsion over single-use plastics should be seen by policy makers and regulators as a sign that citizens want better protection from their leaders against the continuing onslaughts of an industry committed to pursuing bigger profit margins at the expense of a planet already drowning in plastic.”
In Sierra Leone, people have started engaging themselves in plastic recycling trade business. The Women Network for Environment Sustainability (WONES) with support from UNDP in February 2018 trained forty-eight people from Oloshoror, Juba, Crab town and Congo town on plastic recycling.
These trainees were given start-up kits, ranging from sewing machines, scissors, zips, thread, gloves, boot, glue, soap and many other items, with 28 people trained on weaving and 20 on tile production.
These people were schooled on how to weave via waste plastic as they can now produce bag, purse and other items from it, and also can produce tiles out of water sachets, empty bottles and Gerry can which litter the streets of Freetown and cause havoc in flood prone areas.
ZJ/21/4/18
By Zainab Iyamide Joaque
Monday April 23, 2018.
ADVERTISEMENT