Latest news with #UNEnvironmentProgramme
Express Tribune
6 hours ago
- Science
- Express Tribune
Japanese scientists develop plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours
Listen to article Researchers in Japan have developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours, offering up a potential solution for a modern-day scourge polluting oceans and harming wildlife. While scientists have long experimented with biodegradable plastics, researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and the University of Tokyo say their new material breaks down much more quickly and leaves no residual trace. At a lab in Wako city near Tokyo, the team demonstrated a small piece of plastic vanishing in a container of salt water after it was stirred up for about an hour. While the team has not yet detailed any plans for commercialisation, project lead Takuzo Aida said their research has attracted significant interest, including from those in the packaging sector. Scientists worldwide are racing to develop innovative solutions to the growing plastic waste crisis, an effort championed by awareness campaigns such as World Environment Day, taking place on June 5. Plastic pollution is set to triple by 2040, the UN Environment Programme has predicted, adding 23-37 million metric tons of waste into the world's oceans each year. "Children cannot choose the planet they will live on. It is our duty as scientists to ensure that we leave them with the best possible environment," Aida said. Aida said the new material is as strong as petroleum-based plastics but breaks down into its original components when exposed to salt. Those components can then be further processed by naturally occurring bacteria, thereby avoiding generating microplastics that can harm aquatic life and enter the food chain. As salt is also present in soil, a piece about five centimetres (two inches) in size disintegrates on land after over 200 hours, he added. The material can be used like regular plastic when coated, and the team is focusing their current research on the best coating methods, Aida said. The plastic is non-toxic, non-flammable, and does not emit carbon dioxide, he added. The discovery was announced just ahead of World Environment Day, marked annually on June 5th, with this year's theme once again focusing on Beat Plastic Pollution. The global observance highlights the urgent need for action to reduce plastic waste, which continues to pose significant threats to ecosystems, wildlife, and human health. This year's theme reinforces the growing push for sustainable alternatives and solutions to combat the widespread environmental damage caused by plastic pollution. As part of the global effort, World Environment Day aims to raise awareness about the devastating impact of plastic waste and encourages governments, businesses, and individuals to take proactive steps to address the issue. With plastic pollution becoming one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time, this year's observance is a timely reminder of the collective responsibility to preserve the planet for future generations.
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First Post
10 hours ago
- General
- First Post
Can we beat plastic pollution?
Unless we as individuals change our mindset and behaviour towards single-use plastic, neither a global treaty nor national legislation will end plastic pollution read more (File) A man collects plastic and other recyclable material from the shores of the Arabian Sea, littered with plastic bags and other garbage, in Mumbai. AP Plastic, the necessary evil, has become entangled in our web of life, spanning both tradition and modernity, from plumbing to healthcare, from home to Parliament. Invented in 1860, and the first synthetic plastic, Bakelite, was produced in 1907, the suitability, affordability and availability of the plastic have generated a colossal quantity of plastic waste that is choking the very survival of the living Planet. The plastic pollution is so alarming that the UN has called on a second time in two years (last in 2023) on World Environment Day to end the plastic pollution. Strategically, the World Environment Day's repeat theme of 'beat the plastic pollution' is to ignite the countries to agree on plastic pollution during the forthcoming UN Ocean Conference (June 9-13, 2025) and second part of fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic in Geneva (August 5-15, 2025). Similarly, India steps up its campaign for 'one nation, one mission- End Plastic Pollution'. Can we overcome the intricate dependence on single-use plastic (SUP) or end plastic pollution? STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While plastic has been increasingly and immeasurably integrated in our daily lives for the last several decades, littering of SUP items in our ecosphere has severe adverse and hostile effects on terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems. Plastic has become so intertwined that our ecosphere has evolved into a 'plastisphere' – an ecosystem consisting of human-made plastics. The use, abuse and misuse of plastic has become the single most significant and dominant contribution of humankind that transforms the geological era, which is famously termed as Anthropocene- the age of humans. Meanwhile, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that the world produces approximately 413.8 million tonnes of plastic annually (in 2023). Two-thirds of which (more than 280 million tonnes) are short-lived plastic products that quickly become waste, filling the ocean and, often, finding their way into our food chain. Of the more than 8 billion tonnes of plastic waste generated globally to date, less than 10 per cent has been recycled at a snail's pace. About 22 per cent of plastic waste worldwide is neither collected nor properly disposed of, or ends up as litter. However, recycling plastic is not without its risks. One of the recently released studies, Forever Toxic: The science of health threats from plastic recycling, found that this process not only increases the toxicity of plastics but also poses a threat to the health of consumers, frontline communities, and workers in the recycling sector. Is the hype surrounding plastic recycling veering towards myth? Whereas global plastic waste generation has increased more than sevenfold in the past four decades to 360 million metric tonnes per year, projections indicate that waste generation by 2040 will be double the current quantity and may exceed 615 million metric tonnes. Many of us use plastic products every day without even considering where they end up. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Are we truly aware that one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute worldwide, while up to five trillion plastic bags are used globally each year? In total, half of all plastic produced is designed for single-use purposes — used just once and then discarded. We are so addicted to single-use plastic that it seems unthinkable to eliminate it immediately. According to the UNEP, plastics contain over 13,000 chemicals, with more than 3,200 of them known to be hazardous to human health, while the safety of the remainder has not yet been assessed. More intriguing is how 75 to 199 million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans to date. Every year, two million metric tonnes of plastic enter the ocean. The sorry state of plastic pollution can be assessed with the most intriguing photo by photographer and naturalist Justin Hofman depicting a seahorse in the ocean near Sumbawa Island, Indonesia, clinging to a bright pink plastic cotton swab. It is projected that if we don't change our behaviour towards the use of plastic, we may seriously intervene with our aquatic ecosystems, with a projected 23-27 million tonnes per year of plastic waste by 2040. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India's one nation, one mission to end plastic pollution Plastic is ubiquitous in India. India has become the world's largest contributor to plastic pollution, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the total global plastic waste. With 9.3 million tonnes of plastic waste generated annually in India, a staggering 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste are mismanaged. Among the States and Union Territories, Tamil Nadu has produced the largest plastic waste, while Sikkim generated the lowest in 2023. India's per capita plastic consumption has grown to approximately 11 kg per year and is expected to rise significantly with the increasing consumerism. However, India has been specifically addressing the plastic menace through various policy initiatives domestically and globally by engaging in two important treaty negotiations- a global plastic treaty and the Open Seas Biodiversity treaty. Unilateral 'casual' measures date back to the early 2000s when states had imposed a ban on plastic bags. Those state-wide initiatives failed due to a lack of awareness and unpopularity, and non-enforceability. However, the Plastic Waste Management Rules (PWMR), 2016, provide the statutory framework for plastic waste management in the country. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, India has banned 19 identified single-use plastic items, which have low utility and high littering potential, since 1st July 2022 through the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021. India also prohibits the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of plastic carry bags having a thickness less than seventy-five microns from September 2021, and having a thickness less than one hundred and twenty microns from December 2022. The Guidelines on the Extended Producer Responsibility for plastic packaging instruct mandatory targets on recycling of plastic packaging waste, reuse of rigid plastic packaging and use of recycled plastic content. Even so, we keep on using and abusing our surroundings and asking vendors to provide the banned products. Simple awareness programs are not yet effective. Therefore, who will oversee the enforcement of the implementation of the ban on identified single-use plastic items and on plastic carry bags? We must not expect the special task forces of states and Union Territories and the National Level Taskforce to monitor and implement successfully a complete ban on single-use plastic. When estimated against a business-as-usual scenario by one billion Indians in 2022-23 to 2027-28, the impact of LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) actions can be significant in ending 375 million plastic waste if using a cloth bag instead of plastic. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What is India's position on the global plastic treaty? In the meantime, India's official position from the beginning of the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC), the group established to negotiate an international agreement on plastic pollution, has been to ensure the 'fairness, equity, shared responsibility, collective commitments and consensus-based actions' rather than majority-based decision making. India argues, as a common strategy in all multilateral environmental negotiations, that it must be acknowledged that countries have different levels of development, unique circumstances and differential contribution to plastic pollution as we are witnessing now. Therefore, India prefers a mix of both global mandates and largely voluntary approaches to tackle the plastic menace. Many external stakeholders have commented that India, with other countries, has become obstructionist to a global legally binding plastic treaty. After US President Donald Trump reversing the federal push away from plastic straws in February this year, all eyes will be on India during the UN Ocean Conference and final meeting on plastic in Geneva for a successful global plastic treaty. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In the meantime, a multi-prong strategy both within and beyond can be justified to end plastic pollution. Ultimately, it has been reflected in various goals under SDGs- responsible consumption and production (Goal 12), climate action (Goal 13), life below water (Goal 14), life on land (Goal 15), to end the plastic pollution. Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution, in its 58th session (April 4, 2025), recognising, for the first time, the critical connection between plastic pollution, ocean protection and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. To reach a successful global treaty, countries must thrash out principles of reuse, reorient, regulate and diversify the dependence on plastic. The ambitious treaty, expected to progress during the final meeting in Geneva in August, may anchor on provisions for re-designing and rethinking the way we package, affordable and accessible alternatives to plastics, improving the waste management infrastructure, the principle of polluters pay, a predictable financial mechanism and access to technology and so on. Likewise, it is time to change how we produce, consume and dispose of the plastic we use. This is possible when we change our mindsets and behaviours. Let's start with reducing our dependence on single-use plastic from this World Environment Day onwards. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Dr Avilash Roul, International Advisor on Transboundary Water and Climate Change Risk, is a Senior Fellow at the Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict (SSPC), a Delhi-based think tank. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
Hans India
12 hours ago
- General
- Hans India
World Environment Day 2025: Date, Theme, History, Significance & Host Country
Observed annually on June 5, World Environment Day is the largest international platform dedicated to raising environmental awareness and driving action. With participation from over 150 countries, it rallies governments, communities, and individuals to protect and preserve the planet. 2025 Theme: Ending Plastic Pollution The 2025 theme is 'Putting an End to Plastic Pollution.' This year's focus aligns with the UN Environment Programme's #BeatPlasticPollution campaign, which urges communities worldwide to take collective action against the growing plastic waste crisis. Origins of World Environment Day World Environment Day was established in 1972 during the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm, Sweden. The same year, the UN General Assembly officially marked June 5 as World Environment Day. The first celebration in 1973 carried the theme 'Only One Earth.' Since then, it has grown into the most significant global awareness campaign for environmental protection. Why World Environment Day Matters Plastic pollution is a critical environmental issue contributing to climate change, ecosystem damage, and biodiversity loss. Globally, around 11 million tons of plastic waste enter aquatic systems every year. Microplastics pollute soils and waters, costing the global economy an estimated $300 to $600 billion annually. World Environment Day isn't just symbolic. It encourages: • Government-level policy reforms • Public education on environmental issues • Cleanup drives, tree plantation, and awareness campaigns • Community-driven eco-conscious actions India's Plastic Problem: Urgent Attention Needed India is responsible for nearly 20% of the world's plastic waste, generating 9.3 to 9.5 million tonnes annually—around 0.12 kg per person per day. Key environmental impacts include: • Pollution of soil and water resources • Drain blockages and urban flooding • Harm to wildlife and marine ecosystems • Toxic emissions from burning over 5.8 million tonnes of plastic • Severe waste management challenges in metro cities The solution requires stronger bans, improved recycling infrastructure, and public education about sustainable waste disposal practices. Host Country 2025: South Korea Leads the Way South Korea, specifically Jeju Province, is the official host of World Environment Day 2025. Known for its green living initiatives, Jeju has committed to eliminating plastic waste by 2040. Local efforts include: • Mandatory waste segregation • Boosting recycling and eco-tourism • Hosting global forums, exhibitions, and cleanup campaigns As host, Korea will guide international dialogue, share successful practices, and promote innovation in reducing plastic dependency. World Environment Day 2025 serves as a reminder that addressing plastic pollution is a shared responsibility. With South Korea leading the charge and global collaboration rising, this year could mark a pivotal step toward a cleaner, greener future.
Indian Express
18 hours ago
- General
- Indian Express
World Environment Day 2025: Date, theme, significance, celebrations, quotes and slogans — all you need to know
World Environment Day 2025: The Industrial Revolution, along with increasing urbanisation and population growth, has significantly contributed to the degradation of our natural environment. World Environment Day, organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), serves as an important occasion to raise awareness about environmental crises and promote action for sustainability. This global event is observed annually on June 5; this year, in 2025, it will be falling on a Thursday, June 5, with the Republic of Korea hosting the event. It will focus on the theme #BeatPlasticPollution. The theme aims to teach people about how we make, use, and throw away plastics, and what effects they have. The initiative seeks to engage communities globally in advocating for and implementing effective solutions. It will highlight the mounting scientific research on plastic pollution's effects while promoting efforts to refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rethink our reliance on plastics and reaffirm the global commitment established in 2022 to address plastic pollution through a comprehensive treaty. Crabs swap seashells for bottle caps. Birds nest in bags. Plastic trash doesn't belong in nature, but for too many creatures, it has become the new normal. It doesn't have to be this way. With collective action, we can # — UN Environment Programme (@UNEP) June 3, 2025 The first major global meeting about environmental issues happened in Stockholm in 1972. This event was a turning point for the worldwide environmental movement. This meeting acknowledged everyone's basic right to live in a clean environment and resulted in the creation of the UNEP. To celebrate this, it named June 5 is named a worldwide day to focus on environmental awareness. Since that time, the UNEP has taken part in many projects to safeguard the environment. These range from boosting awareness about ecological problems to having an impact on global environmental rules. As we mark World Environment Day today, here are some motivating messages, wishes and quotes that you can share with your friends. 'Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you'. – John Muir 'What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another' – Mahatma Gandhi 'If we do not permit the earth to produce beauty and joy, it will in the end not produce food, either'. – Joseph Wood Krutch 'Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land'. – Aldo Leopold 'People blame their environment. There is only one person to blame – and only one – themselves'. – Robert Collier 'It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment. '– Ansel Adams
Al Etihad
a day ago
- Science
- Al Etihad
Scientists in Japan develop plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours
4 June 2025 19:01 WAKO, Japan (Reuters) Researchers in Japan have developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours, offering up a potential solution for a modern-day scourge polluting oceans and harming scientists have long experimented with biodegradable plastics, researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and the University of Tokyo say their new material breaks down much more quickly and leaves no residual trace. At a lab in Wako city near Tokyo, the team demonstrated a small piece of plastic vanishing in a container of salt water after it was stirred up for about an hour. While the team has not yet detailed any plans for commercialisation, project lead Takuzo Aida said their research has attracted significant interest, including from those in the packaging worldwide are racing to develop innovative solutions to the growing plastic waste crisis, an effort championed by awareness campaigns such as World Environment Day taking place on June 5. Plastic pollution is set to triple by 2040, the UN Environment Programme has predicted, adding 23-37 million metric tons of waste into the world's oceans each year. Takuzo Aida, Group Director at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, shows the sample of ocean-degradable plastic at the CEMS of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan (REUTERS/Manami Yamada) "Children cannot choose the planet they will live on. It is our duty as scientists to ensure that we leave them with the best possible environment," Aida said the new material is as strong as petroleum-based plastics but breaks down into its original components when exposed to salt. Those components can then be further processed by naturally occurring bacteria, thereby avoiding generating microplastics that can harm aquatic life and enter the food salt is also present in the soil, a piece about five centimetres (two inches) in size disintegrates on land after over 200 hours, he added. The material can be used like regular plastic when coated, and the team are focusing their current research on the best coating methods, Aida said. The plastic is non-toxic, non-flammable, and does not emit carbon dioxide, he added.
