The theme of Earth Day 2024 is the fight against plastic pollution

In 2024, the theme of Earth Day, which is celebrated annually on April 22, is plastic. Environmentalists are reminding us of the dangers of plastic pollution, and politicians are trying to agree to limit its production.

Today, April 22, the next meeting of politicians, scientists and representatives of environmental NGOs from different countries begins in Ottawa. They will discuss developing the first-ever global treaty to combat growing plastic pollution of the planet. The agreement should cover the entire life cycle of plastic: from production to disposal. The document is planned to be prepared by the end of 2024.

But there is no agreement yet. At the previous meeting, plastics-producing countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran and China opposed cuts in plastic production. In particular, they blocked work on language calling for restrictions on plastic production and disclosure of information about chemicals. The “Coalition of High Ambition” from sixty countries, on the other hand, calls for an end to plastic pollution by 2040.

On Earth Day, environmentalists described situation in numbers. Over the past decades, people have produced about eight billion tons of plastic – and 90.5% of it has not been recycled. Every minute a million plastic bottles are sold in the world – in nature they decompose 450 years. At the same time, plastic production is growing rapidly. In addition, the production of plastic releases greenhouse gases that affect climate change.

Every week the average person on Earth “eats” a bank card made of microplastic that rises from the surface of the ocean, spreads across the planet, and ends up in water and food. Microplastic capable of penetrating into the blood, placenta and breast milk. The long-term consequences of this are not fully understood, but there is growing evidence that consuming plastic poses serious health risks.

Animals also ingest plastic in their food, which leads to illness and death. In 2023, scientists first diagnosed plasticosis in birds, a fibrosis of the stomach caused solely by the ingestion of plastic.

On Earth Day, environmentalists and activists are demanding a 60% reduction in plastic production by 2040, calling for a Treaty to Combat Plastic Pollution and an end to single-use plastic. Restrictions on the use of single-use plastic products introduced already about 80 countries.