June 5 is World Environment Day, as established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to promote global awareness and action in favor of our natural habitat.
During 2023, efforts to save the planet are aimed at reducing the use of plastics, an environmental problem of enormous proportions, which requires immediate action given the harmful consequences for the ecosystem.
Here are the effects of plastic on the environment:
1. habitat contamination: plastics that are not disposed of properly can end up in rivers, seas and oceans, causing serious damage to marine ecosystems. Animals can mistake plastics for food and ingesting them can cause digestive blockages that are often fatal.
3. Damage to marine life: plastics can entangle marine species, causing them to suffocate or become immobilized. In addition, microplastics, plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, can be ingested by marine fauna, accumulating in the food chain.
4. Slow degradation: most plastics are not biodegradable and can take between 500 and 1000 years to decompose, which means that their impact on the environment is long-lasting.
5. Release of toxic substances: some plastics contain potentially harmful additives that can be released into the environment during decomposition or incineration, contributing to soil, water and air pollution.
6. Contribution to climate change: the production and disposal of plastics emits greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change.
Therefore, every individual, every community, every institution, every company and every government must become aware of the problem and start or continue to develop concrete actions to reduce the production and use of plastics.
More than ever, it is urgent to restore damaged ecosystems. The goal is to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on all continents and in all oceans, thus helping to eradicate poverty, combat climate change and prevent mass extinction. Its success depends on everyone’s collaboration.
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