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World Environment Day 2025 puts plastic crisis under global spotlight
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As the world marks Environment Day on June 5, environmental groups are renewing calls to 'Beat Plastic Pollution,' a global theme repeated for 2025 amid rising concerns over plastics' health and environmental impacts.
the organisation behind April's Earth Day campaigns, is urging individuals, communities, and policymakers to take decisive action. Their 2025 theme, Our Power, Our Planet, focuses on grassroots strength in the face of sluggish international negotiations.
Despite hopes that this year would see the finalisation of the UN Global Plastics Treaty, talks in Busan failed to reach consensus, forcing a sixth round of negotiations (INC5.2) later this year in Switzerland. Countries including Saudi Arabia, Russia and China have resisted proposals to limit plastic production and toxic chemicals.
'Delays now mean more harm for both the planet and human health,' said in a statement.
The Rio Sucio or "Dirty River", where one branch is colored yellow/brown by the minerals it carries from the Irazu Volcano, is seen mixing with the clear waters filtered by the tropical rainforest in the Braullio Carrillo National Park, 50 km (31 miles) east of San Jose, June 5, 2012. REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate
Plastic's invisible toll
According to the organisation's data, more than 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced annually, half of which is single-use. Much of it never reaches landfills, instead polluting ecosystems and entering food and water sources.
2023 Babies vs Plastics report and its follow-up campaigns have linked plastic chemicals to cancer, infertility, developmental disorders, and even dementia. Recycling, once a hopeful solution, is now under scrutiny for spreading microplastics and being mostly ineffective.
Ram Singh (L) and his relatives, dressed in traditional Hindu saffron-coloured clothes walk on a garbage-strewn beach against the backdrop of monsoon clouds on World Environment Day in Mumbai, June 5, 2012. According to the United Nations Environment Programme website, World Environment Day is celebrated annually on June 5 to raise global awareness and motivate action for environmental protection. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash
Local cleanups, global impact
Despite slow progress at the diplomatic level, organisers are championing local action through the Great Global Cleanup. In 2025, over 4,000 cleanup events have removed more than 7 million pounds of waste globally.
Activists also urge public support for the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act and the Global Plastics Petition, aimed at pressuring lawmakers to adopt stricter controls.
'Change doesn't have to wait on governments,' the group said, calling back to the grassroots success of the first Earth Day in 1970, which led to key US environmental laws.
Boats are docked at the polluted Amatitlan Lake, 30 km (18 miles) south of Guatemala City June 5, 2012. REUTERS/William Gularte
A call to act, not wait
While World Environment Day is annual, the group stressed that its goals require constant, year-round effort. 'This is a fight for our health, our planet, and our future,' said
A dead tortoise is seen near the shores of Lake Xolotlan, also known as Lake Managua, which has an area of approximately 1000 sq km and has been receiving raw sewage from Managua's one million residents since 1920, in Managua June 5, 2012. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas
