World Earth Day to Focus on Plastic Pollution

World Earth Day to Focus on Plastic Pollution

It’s World Earth Day on April 22^nd. The Earth Day Network is an organisation which aims to raise awareness of environmental issues by educating people, lobbying for changes in policy, and encouraging people to act through their campaigns. They work with over 50,000 partners in 195 countries and there are now more than £1 billion people involved in Earth Day activities every year.

The first ever World Earth Day was on 22^nd April 1970, and it saw 20 million Americans get involved with environmental activities. Their campaigns provided the momentum for the introduction of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and other environmental laws.

World Earth Day is now a global event, where people march, sign petitions, plant trees, and clean up their local communities and more. Businesses and governments often make environmental pledges to coincide with it.

The focus of this year’s event is ending plastic pollution. The campaign aims to create support for a global effort to eliminate single-use plastics and for regulating the disposal of plastics. The Earth Day Network will raise awareness about the problems associated with the usage and disposal of plastics, including pollution of our oceans and the harm it does to wildlife.

End Plastic Pollution

Plastic is often in the headlines these days, and it’s no coincidence that it’s the focus of this year’s event.

Plastic poisons and causes injury to marine life and harms our health by disrupting hormones. The Earth Day Network wants to eliminate single-use plastics, promote alternatives to fossil fuels, encourage recycling of plastics, increase government and corporate accountability and responsibility, and promote behaviour change.

The End Plastic Pollution campaign includes four main parts:

• Forming a grassroots movement to support the introduction of a global framework to regulate plastic pollution.
• Educating people and encouraging them to take action to demand that governments and businesses act to clean up plastic pollution.
• Encouraging people to take personal responsibility for plastic pollution by choosing to reject, reduce, reuse, and recycle plastics whenever possible.
• Promoting local government initiatives to tackle plastic pollution.

The Earth Day Network will use the 50^th anniversary of World Earth Day as a platform from which to campaign for global action.

What you can do

Here are some things you can do to mark World Earth Day:

Reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic where you can

Plant a tree or donate a tree

Reduce your footprint: Walk instead of driving, don’t leave gadgets on standby, and don’t leave lights on when you’re not in a room. These are all simple things that make a difference

Eat less meat: The meat industry generates around a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions