Agence France-Presse:
On Monday, the United Nations called for “more efforts” to put an end to the “plastic pollution catastrophe”, on the occasion of the World Environment Day celebrations hosted by the capital of Ivory Coast, Abidjan.
“The way the world produces, consumes and disposes of plastic has created a catastrophe (…). We have to do more,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.
“We use it a lot and unnecessarily: straws, cups, bags, and means of protecting transported goods. There are many efforts that must be made at the level of countries, but also at the level of the transport sector,” she added, in a statement to Agence France-Presse.
According to the United Nations, the annual production of plastic has more than doubled in twenty years, to exceed 430 million tons annually. This number could increase threefold by the year 2060 if the world does not move a finger.
A draft international treaty to combat plastic pollution is supposed to be drafted by November, in preparation for reaching a final text in late 2024, according to a decision adopted by 175 countries in Paris last week.
On Monday, World Environment Day was celebrated in its fiftieth annual edition, knowing that the capital of Côte d’Ivoire, like several major cities in Africa, suffers from significant plastic pollution.
“Why is there so much plastic in Africa? Because people don’t have water, so they buy it in bags or bottles. Why is there so much waste in the streets? Because there is no infrastructure to collect it,” Andersen asked, praising the “openness to dialogue” she showed in this regard. Ivory Coast authorities.
In 2013, the Ivory Coast government decided to ban the production, marketing, storage or use of plastic waste. However, this measure is applied only on a very small scale.
According to the United Nations, two-thirds of the plastics produced annually are short-lived products that turn into waste in a short time, and less than 10 percent of plastic waste is recycled.