Each year, an estimated eight million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean – equivalent to a full garbage truck dumped into the sea every minute - the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has said.
Saturday marks World Migratory Bird Day which, this year, is raising awareness about the serious threats that plastic pollution poses to bird life, with a call for urgent measures to end the problem.
The oceans are not only under “unprecedented pressure” due to climate change, but “half of all living coral has been lost in the past 150 years”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, addressing the latest gathering of nations which are party to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
After completing a historic 500km journey from the Kenyan island of Lamu to the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, the world’s first ever traditional “dhow” sailing boat made entirely from recycled plastic, known as the Flipflopi, has successfully raised awareness of the need to overcome one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges: plastic pollution.
Unless people stop dumping plastic items such as bottles, bags and cups after using them just once, there could be more plastic in the oceans than fish by 2050.
That’s according to estimates cited by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) which has launched the #CleanSeas campaign to combat marine litter by reducing plastic production and use.
Dianne Penn spoke to Alejandro Laguna, Information Officer with UNEP’s office in New York.