WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
Context:
- World Environment Day (WED) 2025 is being celebrated on June 5, 2025, with South Korea as the global host.
- The theme focuses on “Beat Plastic Pollution.”
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi strengthened the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” initiative by planting a Banyan sapling at the Bhagwan Mahavir Vanasthali Park in New Delhi on June 5, on the occasion of World Environment Day.
- This is also aimed to enhance the reforestation efforts in the Aravalli mountain range.
WHAT IS WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY?
- About:
- WED was set up by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972.
- This was the same day the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment (the first big global meeting on environmental issues) began.
- Since 1973, the event has been led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
- The Stockholm Conference was a major turning point for the global environmental movement.
- Theme: The 2025 theme is “Beat Plastic Pollution.”
- It aims to make people aware of how plastics are made, used, and thrown away.
- It promotes solutions like refusing, reducing, reusing, and recycling
- Significance of Plastic Pollution:
- Plastic pollution makes other problems like pollution, loss of plants and animals (biodiversity loss), and climate change worse.
- Every year, 11 million tonnes of plastic enter water bodies.
- Tiny plastic pieces called microplastics from landfills and sewage pollute soil.
- The global cost of plastic pollution is estimated to be USD 300–600 billion each year.
- India produces about 9.3 million tonnes of plastic waste yearly, which is nearly 20% of the world’s total.
- Burning over 5.8 million tonnes of plastic yearly releases harmful chemicals.
KEY INITIATIVES FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
- ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ Campaign:
- About: This campaign encourages planting trees in mothers’ names. It combines environmental protection with honoring motherhood, showing how mothers, like trees, nourish and support life.
- Launch: It was launched by the Prime Minister on World Environment Day, June 5, 2024.
- Objective: To promote protecting the environment, increasing forest cover, and supporting sustainable development, while honoring mothers.
- Record: On September 22, 2024, the Territorial Army planted over 5 lakh (500,000) saplings in one hour in Jaisalmer, setting a world record.
- Aravalli Green Wall Project:
- About: This project aims to create a 1,400 km long and 5 km wide green belt around the Aravalli Mountain range. It covers the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Delhi.
- Inspiration: It is inspired by Africa’s ‘Great Green Wall’ project, which goes from Senegal to Djibouti and started in 2007.
- Objectives: To fight land degradation and stop the Thar desert from spreading east. This green belt will restore damaged land, block desert dust, improve local wildlife, and help with things like absorbing carbon and improving water quality.
- Need: India faces severe land degradation. According to a report by ISRO, 29.7% of India’s land was degraded in 2018-19. The Aravalli region is a key area targeted for greening to help India reach its goal of restoring 26 million hectares of land.
PLASTIC POLLUTION IN INDIA
- Main Causes of High Plastic Pollution:
- High Plastic Use: India produces about 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with each person using around 11 kg of plastic per year.
- This is due to more industries and consumerism.
- India is among the top 10 plastic-polluting countries.
- Poor Waste Management: Only 15-20% of plastic waste is recycled in India. The rest ends up in landfills, water bodies, or is burned.
- Most recycling is informal, done by waste pickers in unsafe conditions.
- Too Much Single-Use Plastic (SUPs): In 2023, nearly 43% of India’s total plastic waste was single-use plastic.
- Even though some states have bans, rules are often not strongly enforced, and alternatives are expensive or hard to find.
- Plastic in Rivers & Oceans: Three of the world’s top ten rivers carrying 90% of plastic waste (Ganga, Indus, and Brahmaputra) are in India.
- India adds 0.6 million tonnes of plastic waste to oceans every year.
- Fast Urbanization: Big cities produce a lot of waste. In cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai, where daily waste is huge, plastic pollution shows problems in planning and management.
- Many people and small businesses don’t know about eco-friendly alternatives or proper disposal.
ISSUES WITH MISMANAGED PLASTIC WASTE
- Environmental Harm: Plastic waste in landfills releases harmful chemicals into the soil, affecting farming. Burning plastic releases toxic gases, polluting farmland.
- Tiny plastics (microplastics) in rivers harm water animals. Stray animals and marine life eat plastic, leading to blockages and death.
- Public Health Risks: Every year, 5.8 million tonnes of plastic waste are openly burned, especially in villages and urban slums, releasing cancer-causing chemicals.
- Microplastics have been found in Indian table salt, seafood, and drinking water.
- Also, plastic waste blocking drains leads to still water, making malaria and dengue outbreaks worse.
- Economic Costs: A report estimates India could lose over USD 133 billion in material value from plastic packaging by 2030, with $68 billion lost from uncollected plastic waste.
- Plastic-filled beaches deter tourists, hurting coastal economies. City governments spend a lot of money (Rs 1,500–2,000 crore annually) on cleaning drains.
REGULATIONS & SOLUTIONS FOR PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT
- Key Regulations:
- Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016
- Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022
- Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2024
- Swachh Bharat Mission
- India Plastics Pact
- Steps to Strengthen Plastic Waste Management:
- Stronger Rules & Enforcement: Strictly enforce the 2022 ban on single-use plastic items with clear punishments. Ensure that companies (like FMCG and e-commerce) follow Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rules, meaning they must collect and recycle their plastic waste.
- Better Waste Management Systems: India’s plastic recycling rates have dropped, showing a need for more Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs). Bringing waste pickers into formal systems with fair pay and safety gear can make things more efficient.
- Reduce Plastic Use & Promote Alternatives: Put higher taxes on single-use plastics and encourage alternatives. Promote using bamboo/cloth bags, edible cutlery, and biodegradable packaging.
- Public Awareness & Behavior Change: The Swachh Bharat Mission should include plastic waste awareness through community and school programs. Campaigns can offer goods in exchange for plastic waste. Schools should teach the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle).
- Technology & New Ideas: Pyrolysis plants can turn non-recyclable plastic into diesel. India has also built over a lakh (100,000) kilometers of roads using plastic waste in at least 11 states, showing an innovative reuse method.
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