On Thursday, the United Nations launched a global campaign aimed at governments, companies and consumers to reduce plastic waste in the oceans, where about eight tons of this material end up each year.
“Clean Seas” was launched at the World Oceans Summit held in Nusa Dua, on the Indonesian island of Bali.
Among other measures, the multilateral organization suggests that governments implement policies to reduce plastic, that companies reduce packaging with this material and that consumers change their habits.
By 2020, the campaign aims to completely eliminate the largest sources of plastic at sea: microplastics in cosmetics and disposable containers.
It’s about time we tackle the problem of plastic that plagues our oceans. Plastic pollution is appearing on Indonesian beaches, perching on the seafloor of the North Pole and climbing up the food chain to our tables,”
said Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment.
Nine countries have already joined the campaign, such as Indonesia, which is committed to reducing by 70 percent the plastic that plunges the sea by 2015, Uruguay, which will impose a tax on plastic bags, and Costa Rica, which will improve waste management and education to reduce the use of bags.
The company Dell will use recycled plastic collected near Haiti to manufacture computer products.
According to the UN, plastic accounts for 80 percent of the waste in the oceans and causes damages worth $ 8 billion in the marine ecosystem.
At the current growth rate, by 2050 the plastic in the oceans will weight more than fish and 99 percent of seabirds will have consumed remains of this material.