World Oceans Day 2018 Focuses on Plastic Waste Contamination

On June 8, World Oceans Day 2018 evoked a global response to the single-use plastic waste problem contaminating ocean waters. The annual day, coordinated by The Ocean Project, targeted preventing plastic pollution this year and sought to encourage solutions for a healthy ocean.

Leading up to the day, Chile recently announced it will ban all retailers in the country from providing single-use plastic bags. India announced plans to ban all single-use plastic by 2022 as a part of the country’s ongoing initiative to fight plastic pollution. According of the country’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India generates approximately 25,940 tons of plastic per day, meaning the impending ban would have a significant global impact.

Coinciding with World Oceans Day and the plastic-free mission, CNN launched #ZeroPlasticLunch, a global initiative that encourages students and schools to pack plastic-free lunches and targets single-use plastic straws. The campaign’s reach has extended to schools in Amsterdam, Maldives, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Jordan and the U.S, as students band together to pack waste-free lunches.

This year’s theme for World Oceans Day capitalizes on the buzz surrounding a recent National Geographic cover which features an iceberg composed of a giant plastic bag. Other global leaders have responded such as Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the host of the upcoming G7 Summit in Quebec, Canada. Trudeau has announced one of the primary focuses of the global leaders summit will be addressing plastic pollution in global waterways, as reported by CBC.