The Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Inger Andersen has called for the redesign of products and packaging so that people can use less plastic.
The call comes as the world today commemorates World Environment Day under the theme “# BeatPlasticPollution.”
The theme provides an opportunity to raise the volume on the call for governments, cities, and businesses to invest in and implement solutions to ending plastic pollution.
Andersen is rallying people to refuse unnecessary single-use items saying it is the only way countries can keep plastic out of the ecosystems.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of World Environment Day after it was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972.
Figures show that over 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced worldwide every year.
A recent United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report, titled “Turning off the Tap” recommends that redesigning how we produce, use, recover and dispose of plastics and products could save 4.5 trillion US Dollars by 2040.
