World Environment Day: A call to end plastic pollution

Plastics, once hailed as a revolutionary invention, have become an environmental menace.

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The world produces over 400 million tons of plastic annually, half of which is designed for single-use. Only less than 10 percent of this plastic is recycled. The rest ends up in landfills, is incinerated, or worse finds its way into our rivers, lakes, and oceans. An estimated 11 million tons of plastic leak into aquatic ecosystems each year, endangering over 800 marine species through ingestion and entanglement, according to the United Nations World Environment Day website.

June 5 is World Environment Day, the United Nations' largest global platform for environmental outreach since 1973. The program is led by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

World Environment Day 2025 brings urgent attention to a crisis choking our planet plastic pollution. Under the theme #BeatPlasticPollution, this year's commemoration is not just a reminder of the damage done-it's a global call to action.