This year, World Environment Day joins the UN Environment Programme-led #BeatPlasticPollution initiative to mobilize communities worldwide to implement and advocate for solutions.
Globally, an estimated 11 million tonnes of plastic waste leak into aquatic ecosystems each year, while microplastics accumulate in the soil from sewage and landfills, due to the use of plastics in agricultural products. The annual social and environmental cost of plastic pollution ranges between US$300 billion and US$600 billion.
While plastic pollution is a major concern, it is also one of the most fixable of today’s environmental challenges, with some obvious solutions at hand.
World Environment Day will spotlight the growing scientific evidence on the impacts of plastic pollution and drive momentum to refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rethink plastics use. It will also reinforce the global commitment made in 2022 to end plastic pollution through a global plastic pollution treaty.
Find out more about World Environment Day 2025 here.
