Tackling Plastic Pollution
World Consumer Rights Day is an annual occasion dedicated to highlighting the power of consumers and their rights for a fair, safe and sustainable marketplace for everyone.
World Consumer Rights Day was inspired by President John F Kennedy, who sent a special message to the US Congress on 15th March 1962. In this he addressed the issue of consumer rights. Together through consumer advocacy, we honour this with an international voice.
In the words of President John F Kennedy: “the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose and the right to be heard.”
This World Consumer Rights Day (15 March 2021), consumers will join together to Tackle Plastic Pollution. Our ecosystem suffers from single-use plastics as these continue to fill our oceans. Where consumers are increasingly concerned about plastic pollution, they are already taking action. As a global consumer movement, we play a critical role in tackling plastic pollution and promoting sustainable consumption.
Scroll below to explore our #NoPlasticPollution gallery featuring global actions tackling plastic pollution, from our consumer advocacy membership.
ABOUT THE THEME
Plastic is a highly useful material in our everyday lives, but our consumption and production of plastics, especially single-use plastic, have become unsustainable. However, there is not a single solution to tackling plastic pollution, so we have created the 7 Rs Model of Waste Management (replace, rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and repair), to show you various ways to combat this issue.
The Pew Charitable Trusts & SYSTEMIQ report, Breaking the Plastic Wave, released in August 2020, calculates the flow of plastic materials into the ocean will triple by 2040 if major innovations and changes in policy and behaviour do not occur.
DID YOU KNOW?
- By 2050, it is estimated that there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish
- 100,000 marine mammals and turtles and 1 million sea birds are killed by marine plastic pollution annually
- An estimated 8 million tons of plastic enters our oceans every year
- Single-use plastics account for 50 percent of the plastic produced every year
- Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years
- 40 per cent of plastic produced is packaging and discarded after one use
“Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing issues facing our planet. Consumer awareness of the plastics crisis is growing around the world. Consumers have a crucial role to shape the marketplace, and we must support them to mobilise businesses and governments, to ensure sustainable consumption is accessible to all.” - Helena Leurent, Director General, Consumers International
#NOPLASTICPOLLUTION PHOTO ACTION
For World Consumer Rights Day 2021, we curated photos from our membership to show how the global consumer movement tackles plastic pollution across the 7 Rs Model of Waste Management.
