UNIS/SGSM/1394
26 March 2024
Our planet is drowning under a torrent of trash.
Every year, humanity produces more than 2 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste. Rotting food, plastic bottles, chemical-laced electronics and much more is tossed away without regard for our water, land and air.
As trash decays, it spews planet-warming greenhouse gases into our atmosphere, poisons our water and soil, and inflicts illness, disease and even death among people around the world.
Overconsumption is killing us. Humanity needs an intervention.
Since last year, the Advisory Board on Zero Waste has been bringing partners together around this critical issue and what needs to be done to make zero waste a reality.
Businesses must rethink their products to minimize wasteful packaging and maximize longevity and lifecycle.
Consumers must think twice about the goods and products they purchase, and recycle or reuse wherever possible.
Governments at all levels must build circular economies that address resource depletion and management, and invest in modern waste-management programmes anchored in reuse, remanufacturing, recovery and waste prevention.
And the global community must stand as one and work towards achieving a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution.
On this Zero Waste Day, let’s pledge to end the destructive cycle of waste, once and for all.
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Members of the media are invited to attend the twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) which will be held from 14 to 18 October 2024 in Vienna, Austria.
"Gandhi believed non-violence was the greatest force available to humanity – more powerful than any weapon. Together, let's build institutions to support that noble vision." — António Guterres
"As populations age, care and support systems are vital for older persons to continue actively engaging and enriching their communities." — António Guterres
The Dominican Republic signed the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships (the "Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships") at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 27 September 2024.
