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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We must transform how we produce and consume, and how we value nature, says the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, "Biodiversity is the bedrock of life and a cornerstone of sustainable development.... Biodiversity loss is a global challenge. No one country, however rich or powerful, can address it alone. Nor can they live without the rich biodiversity that defines our planet."
LGBTIQ+ people around the world face an onslaught of hate speech, attacks, and restrictions on their rights. The power of communities is the theme this year which reminds us that we are strongest together. "LGBTIQ+ people, and those working with them to secure their rights, have proved time and again the value of communities in providing support and driving change," says UN Secretary-General António Guterres
"From the telegraph to radio, from the Internet to Artificial Intelligence, technology has transformed how we live, work, and connect." — António Guterres
Barbados signed and deposited its instrument of ratification for 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 8 May 2025.
