{"id":5834,"date":"2024-04-23T07:08:17","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T07:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.powershiftafrica.org\/blogs\/ditch-the-plastic-save-the-planet"},"modified":"2026-10-28T09:32:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T09:32:53","slug":"ditch-the-plastic-save-the-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/blogs\/ditch-the-plastic-save-the-planet\/","title":{"rendered":"Ditch the plastic, save the planet"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/657880dcd408ac495a5cc888\/44bc7a43-9b6f-4fa6-ab25-2c92321ae412\/iStock-1442904386.jpg?format=original\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year\u2019s Earth Day is themed around plastic pollution and its effects on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2018\u2018To deal with\u202fplastic\u202fpollution, humanity must change. We must change the way we consume, the way we produce and how we dispose of our waste. This is the reality of our world. Change is inevitable.\u2019\u2019\u202f\u2013 Kenya\u2019s President William Ruto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But what is the global state of plastic pollution?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>PLASTICS BY THE NUMBERS\u202f<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><p><span>400 million tonnes \u2013 Amount of\u202fplastic\u202fwaste produced globally every year \u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><span>1 billion tonnes \u2013\u202fplastic\u202fwaste to be produced by 2060\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><span>23 million tonnes \u2013plastic\u202fwaste dumped in water bodies \u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><span>40 million tonnes \u2013\u202fPlastics recycled per year\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><span>46% -\u202fplastics that end up in landfills\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><span>22% -\u202fplastics that become litter\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><span>17% -\u202fplastics that are burned\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Experts argue that this kind of\u202fpollution\u202fis unacceptable, calling it, essentially, \u2018\u2018an existential threat to life, humanity and the planet.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>PLASTICS AND CLIMATE CHANGE \u202f<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What is the relationship?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Plastics are a byproduct of fossil fuels, which are overwhelmingly responsible for causing climate change. By 2024, plastics could account for up to 19 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, pushing global warming even higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dealing with\u202fthe plastic\u202fpollution\u202fmenace is, therefore, central to addressing climate change, multiple scientific studies reveal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Ruto: \u2018\u2018It is now time for investors, multinational corporations and technology companies to shift strategic investments to reduce their\u202fplastics waste footprint.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CURBING\u202fPLASTIC\u202fPOLLUTION\u202f<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To slow the damage of plastics on the planet, scientists call upon producers and innovators to rethink\u202fplastic\u202fproducts and packaging to reflect the principles of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><p><span>Reuse \u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><span>Refill \u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><span>Repair and \u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><p><span>Repurpose \u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They also propose alternative and eco-friendly options that include non-plastic\u202fsubstitutes, alternative\u202fplastics and\u202fplastic\u202fproducts that do not have negative environmental, health and social impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ECO-FRIENDLY PACKAGING?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><p><span>Cellulose: made of cotton, hemp or wood\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><span>Cornstarch\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><span>Kraft paper \u2013 made from wood pulp\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><span>Glassine \u2013 made from glass material\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><span>Corrugated \u2013 this is made from a heavy type of paper (containerboard)\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><span>Recycled packaging \u2013 this minimises the use of new material\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><span>Biodegradable packaging \u2013 material that can decompose\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This year\u2019s Earth Day is themed around plastic pollution and its effects on the planet. \u2018\u2018To deal with\u202fplastic\u202fpollution, humanity must change. We must change the way we consume, the way [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":5835,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[25],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-5834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs","tag-energy-transition"],"acf":{"url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5834"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9524,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5834\/revisions\/9524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5834"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=5834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}