Updated: 9/22/2025

Over two billion metric tons of unsustainable, municipally generated waste are thrown away globally every year, entering our environment and impacting climate change, wildlife, and human health. If we continue practicing waste management strategies as we do today, the total waste generation for 2050 is projected to be around 3.78 billion metric tons if urgent action is not taken, representing an estimated 1.66 billion metric ton increase in waste since 2020. In other words, we are creating more trash than ever!

Sixty-two percent of global waste is collected in controlled municipal facilities, while the rest is dumped, burned, or discarded. Of the total municipal waste that is collected, only 19% is recycled and 30% ends up in sanitary landfills. Sanitary landfills aim to prevent waste from leaking into the environment through the soil and groundwater by using lining materials and water disposal plans that are tailored to the local surroundings. They also use landfill gas collection systems to keep greenhouse gasses (GHGs) created by decomposing trash from being released directly into the atmosphere. When our waste does enter the environment, it poses risks to the Earth, animals, and our own health.

Trash Exacerbates Climate Change

In the United States, the primary system for controlling waste is the use of sanitary landfills, but this type of site is expensive to operate and only accounts for 8% of the world’s landfills in total.  

The most common type of landfill system is open dumping, which are landfills that do not have any safeguards that prevent trash from being exposed to the environment. They account for around 40% of waste globally, and while they are more cost-effective, open dumping systems accelerate climate change by allowing toxins to leak out of the trash and into the soil, groundwater, and nearby waterways.

These open landfill sites also allow greenhouse gasses, like carbon dioxide and methane, to be released directly into the atmosphere. It was estimated in 2024that around 10% of global methane emissions are produced by landfills. Methane is one of the largest contributors to climate change with a warming potential over 80 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 20 year time frame. 

This means that even though innovative climate mitigation strategies, including the development of various climate-resilient policies, are trying to tackle the problem of climate change, global waste management practices are undermining these efforts. 

A recent Harvard study showed that greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) across seventy U.S. landfills were on average 77% higher than estimates by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This crucial lack of reliable government data is deeply concerning and may mean we are vastly underestimating how much landfills sites are contributing to GHG emissions and therefore impacting climate change. 

Trash Is Killing Wildlife 

In addition to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, trash pollution is also incredibly harmful to the world’s wildlife, especially when waste ends up in the ocean..

All kinds of marine species, including fish, mammals, birds, and crustaceans, consume fragments of plastic or solid waste as it degrades into smaller and smaller pieces. Wildlife is often unable to distinguish between food and plastic waste, and in some cases they are even attracted to it by its smell. 

In 2021, researchers found that an estimated 19 to 23 million tons of plastic waste enter aquatic environments annually, with at least 1,500 different species having been found to have consumed plastics, including whales, sea turtles, and seabirds. For example, a krill-obligate blue whale is said to ingest around 10 million pieces of microplastic every single day. 

Plastic pollution is even becoming the daily diet for many sea-birds, and in 2015, a staggering 90% of sea-birds were found to have plastics in them, causing many of them to get sick and die as a result. Even if these creatures don’t consume plastics in one form or another, plastic trash often injures and maims them. 

Some of this ocean plastic is entering the human food chain when we eat the crustaceans and fish that have consumed microplastics. Our waste problem is severely plaguing the health of the world’s species, including our own.

Trash Impacts Human Health

Human health is being deeply impacted by this lack of environmental accountability and awareness.  Over 1,000 chemicals used in the manufacturing of millions of different plastic products on the market today are classified as endocrine-disrupting, with some of them being carcinogenic. They have been associated with some cancers, infertility, Alzheimer’s, miscarriages, developmental issues, and more. 

PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals’, have been in existence since the 1940s and are used on items to repel oil and water, which makes them useful in products like nonstick cookware, stain resistant clothing, and firefighting foam. When these items are dumped in landfills, it creates another pathway for these dangerous chemicals to enter the environment, where they can ultimately poison us and all other living creatures. 

Bad trash management could be the downfall of humanity, wildlife, and the health of all ecosystems. If emissions from landfills continue to increase as projections forecast, our climate will not only be negatively impacted, but human health will be too. It’s a sobering fact that even though high-income countries only account for 16% of the world’s population, they are responsible for around 34 percent, or 683 million metric tons, of the world’s trash. 

There’s never been a better time to find out more about plastic pollution and how you can help reduce your own waste. Think before you buy, do I really need this item or will I use it a few times and throw it in the trash? Reject fast fashion, give up single-use plastics for good and sign our plastic petition. 

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Plastic packaging is everywhere. From grocery store shelves to mail deliveries and pharmaceutical products, fast food to fast fashion, plastic waste is becoming a serious and growing crisis. 

Plastic is deeply rooted in consumerism, promising convenience, durability, and short-term cost-effectiveness. However, the cost of all this plastic on human health as well as wildlife and the environment is often ignored. 

With 460 million metric tons of plastic produced every year and a staggering 20 million metric tons of it ending up in the environment, every single year. According to a report by the UN Environment Programme, 10 million tons of plastic waste enters our oceans every year.

Who are the main sources of all this plastic waste?

Supermarkets Are Fuelling A Growing Plastic Crisis

Supermarkets generate vast amounts of plastic waste from food packaging. In the U.S., food containers and packaging generate over 82 million tons of plastic waste, with much of it being single-use. 

Over 100 billion plastic bags are used annually in supermarkets across the U.S. alone, and the majority of them end up in landfills or the environment, as only a small percentage are recycled.

In fact only 10% of all plastic is being successfully recycled across the planet. Plastic packaging not only contributes significantly to environmental degradation, polluting our oceans and waterways but plastics shed microplastics which hurt human health and wildlife, one recent study in China found that every single bird sampled in a one test had microplastics inside them. A staggering 416 microplastic particles were found in every gram of lung tissue studied in all the bird species examined. 

These microplastics over time release toxic chemicals which are harmful to the health of animals and travel up the food chain affecting all levels of the ecosystem. In humans, these plastic chemicals have been associated with such health issues as cancer, Alzhiemers, and infertility.  

Despite efforts by retailers to promote recycling, an investigation by National Geographic found that a large portion of soft plastics collected for recycling is actually incinerated instead. This raises concerns about the effectiveness of current supermarket recycling programs. UK supermarkets produce some of the highest levels of unnecessary plastic packaging in Europe, finding 29.8 billion pieces of avoidable plastic waste is used every year in Britain alone!

While some retailers are taking steps to reduce their plastic usage, such as encouraging reusable containers, these efforts remain insufficient compared to the scale of the issue. Experts argue that systemic change is needed, including stricter regulations on packaging and increased investment in sustainable materials. For instance, on February 11th, the European Union implemented a mandate to make all packaging be designed for recyclability in an economically viable manner, by 2030.

The Hidden Cost of Plastic in Mail Deliveries

The surge in e-commerce has significantly increased the use of plastic packaging in mail deliveries, with things looking set to get worse as e-commerce is estimated to increase by 8 trillion USD from 2022 to 2027. From bubble wrap to plastic air pillows, these materials contribute to the mounting plastic waste problem. In response to growing concerns, Amazon recently announced that it would phase out plastic air pillows in its packaging, a move praised by environmental advocates. But much more needs to be done.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has set sustainability targets for 2030, aiming to increase recycling rates and incorporate more recycled content in its packaging. They aim to divert 75% of the waste from landfills and increase their packaging recyclability to 88%. Despite these claims, widespread adoption of sustainable packaging solutions remains slow due to challenges with cost and market demand for recycled materials.  

Pharmaceutical Plastic

It probably never crosses your mind where your pill containers go when they are empty, does it? While plastic waste from supermarkets and e-commerce receives significant media attention, the pharmaceutical industry’s contribution to the problem is often overlooked. 

The industry produces millions of tons of plastic waste annually, much of it single-use and difficult to recycle. There are estimates that the pharmaceutical industry generates over 300 million tons of plastic waste annually, with half of it being single-use. Some firms are investing in recyclable plastics – for example Braskem reported in 2022 that it was producing an average of 440 million pounds of sustainable plastic each year. Which is equivalent to the weight of nearly 978 Statues of Liberty.   

Meanwhile, one study outlines the broader environmental risks of plastic use in healthcare, emphasizing that while plastics are crucial for safety, there is a pressing need to develop environmentally responsible alternatives due to the association between plastic chemicals leaching from plastics and many serious health problems.

Paving the Way to Sustainability: Overcoming Challenges and Embracing Solutions

The transition to sustainable packaging across these industries presents numerous challenges. Cost remains a major barrier, with biodegradable and recyclable materials often being more expensive than traditional plastic. There is also the issue that sustainable packaging materials need to have the same quality as their plastic counterparts and the lack of regulatory guidelines for sustainable packaging.  Despite these challenges, progress is being made. 

Recent research from the National Library of Medicine highlights the potential of bioplastics in reducing packaging waste. Experts argue that governments must implement stricter regulations, including extended producer responsibility programs that hold companies accountable for the end-of-life disposal of their plastic products. The challenge now is ensuring that these efforts move beyond promises and into tangible action before it’s too late.

If you feel passionate about securing such a future, consider signing on to EARTHDAY.ORG’s petition for a Global Plastics Treaty. Then, think and act locally — meaning work together with your community to demand global change. This could mean writing to representatives at local, state, and national levels or organizing an event that educates others on the impacts of the plastic waste industry.

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The Angry Birds are flapping up to the plate and making their voices heard this Earth Month. Exclusively, they are revealing to the world, using clever messaging inside of their games why they are SO angry. It’s plastic. Why? Because plastic pollution is becoming the daily diet for birds, especially seabirds, as a staggering 90% of them consume plastics and many of them get sick with a disease named as a badge of shame for plastics: plasticosis.

This plastic induced illness injures, hurts, and kills seabirds and by 2050, every seabird alive will have ingested plastics. No wonder these Angry Birds are so angry! How can this be happening? Well it’s simple: Every single year, at least 14 million tons of plastic ends up in the ocean, making up 80% of all marine trash that’s found from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. 

So what really is plasticosis? Plasticosis is different from many other diseases as it’s not caused by viruses or bacteria, instead it is directly caused by plastic ingestion. Birds are enticed into eating debris because it smells like food. When birds digest these plastics, it digs into their stomach tissue causing excessive scarring, preventing them from healing properly. Too much scarring can eventually change their stomach structure and eventually their tissues start to break down. These Angry Birds have a reason to be angry — they’re suffering the consequences of our actions.

Birds diagnosed with Plasticosis will experience a decreased appetite and reduced nutrient absorption because of limited space in scarred stomachs, leaving these damaged birds more susceptible to parasites and other health issues. In one study, researchers found that 1,288 marine species have ingested plastic, which rises to 1,565 species including terrestrial birds. And as plastic pollution continues to increase with plastic production, it won’t just be Angry Birds and their friends  – it will be all species impacted by plastic pollution that will need saving. 

Specifically, flesh-footed shearwater birds are the most contaminated birds on the planet.  off the Eastern coast of Australia on Lord Howe Island – there’s evidence that the population of these birds has declined by as much as 29% over the last 3 generations, and it’s widely because of plastic ingestion. One research team found 64 grams of plastic, made up of 274 pieces, in one shearwater chick. In another study from 2023, a staggering 405 pieces were discovered. This plastic diet can account to 5-10% of a chick’s total body weight, severely compromising their health and chance of survival.

While seabirds are largely impacted by plastic pollution, terrestrial birds also face significant threats from this man made threat too. . As plastic waste accumulates in their habitats, birds use it to build their nests, leading to entanglement. In a research review which analyzed over 106 studies, they discovered injury and death of birds in all 15 cases that reported incidents of plastic entanglement. More specifically, a study done in 2014 found that 11 of 195 American crow nestlings were entangled with  plastic in the nests. These nestlings had significantly lower fledging success rates and had bone malformation. This highlights the importance of addressing plastic pollution to protect both searbirds and terrestrial birds. 

Join the Angry Birds and get angry about plastics and the injury, deaths, and pain it inflicts on our feathered friends. Urgent responses are needed to mitigate these effects, and you can help today by signing EARTHDAY.ORG Global Plastics Treaty Petition, and stop using single use plastic!

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Whether it’s the lively tunes of Beyoncé or the timeless, slow jazz of Miles Davis, music is all around us. With paid streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music, listening to your favorite song has become easier than ever before. As a result, music sales have been increasing at significant rates and last year globally reached their highest total sales since 1999, peaking at an astounding $28.6 billion,

However, with this extreme growth also comes the heavy environmental toll associated with music production, tours, and festivals. 

Music production — from recording and distributing vinyls or CDs to streaming services — is one of the most significant environmental impacts from the music industry. During the era between the rise of vinyls in the 1970s and the peak of CDs in the early 2000s, the United States’ CO2 emissions from this sector only increased from 140 million kilograms to 157 million kilograms. In 2016, the environmental cost associated with streaming music through digital devices soared to 350 million kilograms, largely driven by the substantial power and energy demands of data centers to support the global streaming services.

Despite the increasingly large carbon footprint caused by energy-hungry streaming services, artists are beginning to use their platforms to not only entertain, but also to inspire positive change and talk about the need to address the climate crisis we are in. By incorporating sustainability into their music’s messaging and by encouraging their fans to take action, these artists are leaving a cultural footprint that extends far beyond their lyrics.

Leading by Example

Many prominent artists have tried to bring about real change by making their tours more eco-friendly. For example, Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Tour pledged to reduce their carbon direct emissions by 50% from their last tour in 2017. As of 2023, they have successfully reached 47% fewer carbon emissions, yet they are still working to improve this statistic. Some of the initiatives of this tour include sustainable aviation fuel and renewable energy generation: from photovoltaic cells and even kinetic dance floors. 

In addition to being one of Gen Z’s favorite artists, Billie Eilish is also the co-founder of Music Decarbonization Project. As a vegan herself, she has made concerted efforts to provide only vegan menus to the touring staff and at concert venues, as a way of demonstrating her dedication to reducing carbon emissions where possible. Eilish describes the impacts of her green touring decisions when she says, “We provided over 24,000 plant-based meals for our touring crew and also worked with venues to ensure plant-based options were available to fans. By making that shift, we estimate to have saved 8.8 million gallons of water, 240,000 square feet of forested land, 123 tonnes of CO2e, and over 8,000 animals.”

Despite major progress, one of the main challenges the industry faces is the cost of switching to renewable energy sources. A notable success is Mysteryland Festival in The Netherlands, which receives 80% of its energy from solar farms, thereby investing in clean energy for a greener future in music. Similarly, the Deep Tropics EDM festival in Nashville, Tennessee, was named the “greenest festival” in the country. This event banned single-use plastics, and also has a policy of no trash cans, only offering compost or recycling options. 

Larger festivals such as Glastonbury and Coachella have also made significant environmental strides, with the former implementing a complete ban on single-use plastics on its grounds from 2019 onward. They provide watering refill stations all over the festival grounds and have made the use of single use plastics almost feel offensive. Coachella has eliminated its provision of single-use plastic bottles and encourages festival goers to bring their own reusable bottle and to fill up using one of the many free refill stations available.

Empowering Change with Sustainable Solutions

Among the opportunities for progress, REVERB stands out as a shining example. This nonprofit organization helps artists maintain environmental practices on tours. REVERB’s efforts have “eliminated more than 4 million single-use bottles and reduced emissions equivalent to 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide.” REVERB is also dedicated to expanding the cultural footprint of the music industry by educating concert goers through Eco-Village — an area at concerts where people can register to vote, learn more about environmental education, or even just pick up a reusable water bottle.

For those of you who want your favorite artists to be more environmentally conscious, why not let them know by writing to their label or management? Approach their fan groups and see if others feel the same and act together to ask for more accountability. Consider actively supporting artists that openly speak about caring for the environment. By doing this, you are not only amplifying their message, but also encouraging other artists to switch to more eco-friendly music making and touring habits. 

Individuals and artists both play an integral role in fostering sustainability within the music industry, and together, these collective efforts can pave the way for a greener future for music and our planet alike.

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Plastics are very good for holding the fibers of your t-shirt together, or even for creating the glue that sticks your tea bags together, but plastics are also extremely effective at poisoning our oceans too; one massive garbage patch at a time.

In fact, there are five, one in the Indian Ocean, two in the Atlantic Ocean, and two in the Pacific Ocean. The most famous lies between California and Hawaii and spans 620,000 square miles, according to CNN. Contrary to popular belief, you can’t see these “patches” with the naked eye. Instead, the trash spreads across the surface and into the ocean floor, creating a soup of microplastics that can’t be scooped up or cleared away. Microplastics are broken down over time from larger pieces of plastics until they form into tiny pieces smaller than 5mm, and which seem to detrimental to the well- being of all living things,

Each year over 400 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide, 11 million metric tons of which end up in the ocean, according to The U.S. Department of State. To put this to scale, there are 500 times more microplastic particles in the ocean than there are stars in our galaxy. Every bit of plastic ever made still exists today and will continue to exist for another 500 years at least.

New research shows that most seabirds now eat plastics, so much so that it’s led to a new disease, plasticosis, causing stomach scarring and appetite loss. Birds feel less hungry as a result and this can change their growth spans – we know for example that Island Flesh-footed Shearwater’s wingspan, bill length, and body size have all shrunk in the last 13 years, due to plasticosis.

It is not just seabirds negatively impacted by plastics. Whales are paying a heavy price for our plastic addiction too. In 2019 a whale was found dead, with 88 pounds of ingested plastic inside its stomach. In fact, the whale’s stomach was as hard as a baseball and it almost certainly had a long painful death as a result that could have lasted over a year, according to marine biologist and environmentalist Darrell Blatchley. He and his team have found countless other whales and dolphins subjected to this same toxicity. Thousands of species of marine mammals die every year from ingesting or getting entangled in plastic, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. 

“It never occurs to us that creatures as big as whales are impacted by plastics but of course they are eating what is in the ocean – be it large bits of plastic trash or microscopic size pieces of plastic trash. The only way to stop all this harmful plastic trash is to make less plastics in the first place.”

Aidan charron, director of end plastic initiatives, EARTHDAY.ORG

It’s not just aquatic life that is impacted, it is human life too: microplastics and their additive chemicals get into the human food chain and can lead to cancers and a whole catalogue of health issues. New research has found that microplastics have been found in human placentas, our hearts, our bloodstream, our lungs and our brains

Since March 2022, representatives from 175 nations have been working to agree on a UN Global Plastic Treaty to negotiate how we deal with our plastic problem. The fourth session of the International Negotiating Committee will take place over this year’s Earth Day, in Ottawa, Canada.

However, the plastic producing industry is now part of these negotiations and is spending time and money to deflect the conversation away from globally cutting plastic production to talk of plastic recycling and creating a circular plastic economy. Plastic recycling is a lie that the industry has been promoting for decades.

A lot of plastics can’t even be recycled. For example, the tops of your soda bottles are made of either thermoset or thermoplastic polymers which are formed with chemical bonds that cannot be reversed – so anything made from them cannot be recycled. In fact, only 9% of plastic globally is recycled and only a tiny 5% of plastics are recycled in the United States. It’s hardly the circular economy the plastic industry touts.

The fossil fuel industry owns the plastic industry, and since plastic is made from oil, they are not going to give up their plastic cash cow easily. If plastic production does not drastically decrease, the impact on human health and every other living species, could be catastrophic.

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Earth Day is celebrated all over the world every April 22 with more than one billion people taking the time to advocate for the planet and the health of all living things. From joining the Great Global Clean Up, to backing calls for the teaching of climate education in every school, to signing the Global Plastic Treaty – there are endless ways to get involved.

Each year Earth Day has a theme, set by EARTHDAY.ORG – the organization created by the same people who invented and orchestrated the first Earth Day 54 years ago. This year’s theme is Planet vs. Plastics. Why?

Because plastic pollutes our planet and its production produces greenhouse gasses (GHGs) that contributes to climate change. Right now, the manufacture of plastics accounts for 4% of GHG emissions but if we continue our present plastic producing trajectory this could triple by the year 2060.

Plastics are made from oil, and are therefore a part of the fossil fuel industry. The vast majority of plastic is never recycled but instead contributes to an epic waste crisis as well as killing wildlife. Now, there’s growing evidence we are inhaling and ingesting tiny particles of plastics, known as microplastics, as well as toxic chemicals leaching out of them.

Humans are not designed to ingest plastics, so it’s not surprising that there is growing evidence of associated health risks. Research suggests the health implications presented by microplastics and their additive chemicals are particularly relevant to babies both before and after birth. In one recent study, 100 percent of placentas tested had microplastics. 

It’s not just babies that are impacted; some studies report finding associations between microplastics and specific cancers, Alzheimer’s and a new study of heart patients undergoing plaque removal surgery found polyethylene microplastics in nearly 60% of them.

We will likely never be able to limit ingesting and inhaling plastics completely but here are some tips to help mitigate your intake:

Limiting plastics on the menu:

1. Avoid eating too much red meat. There’s growing evidence red meat contains plastic particles and shellfish consume microplastics which then remain in their digestive tracts!  Aim, to make wise protein choices!
2. Try to sweep or vacuum as much as possible in your home because dust is full of plastic fibers and particles.
3. We all know single-use plastic water bottles are bad for the environment.  But, now there’s new evidence the water in single use plastic bottles can contain up to 240 000 nano particles of plastic per bottle.
4. Try to avoid microwaving your food in plastic containers because the heat releases plastic chemicals, like BPA, into your food.
5. Use as few toiletries as possible because they often contain plastic chemicals like phthalates. Plus, the plastic packaging used in the beauty and personal-care market creates vast amounts of plastic pollution. In 2018, 7.9 BILLION rigid units of plastic packaging were created in the US alone!
6. Some studies have found leafy vegetables contain less microplastics than root vegetables, so opt to include them in your recipes.
7. Finally avoid wearing polyester, it’s a textile made of plastic which sheds microplastic fibers you will end up breathing in.

The one key thing ALL of us can do this Earth Day to ensure we ALL cut back on our plastic consumption is to call for governments around the world negotiating on the UN Global Plastic Treaty to drastically limit plastic production by 60% by 2040. 

This year, these critically important UN led negotiations are taking place in Ottawa, Canada, on April 22, which is of course Earth Day!

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If I asked you what the most common form of plastic pollution is, what would you say? Plastic bottles? Straws? Bags? 

All good, but incorrect guesses. Cigarette butts are actually the most abundant form of plastic waste in the world, with about 4.5 trillion individual butts polluting our global environment. 

But wait, aren’t cigarette butts made of cotton or paper? 

In fact, cigarette butts consist primarily of plastic and while they may be small so tend to go unnoticed, you will find them practically everywhere. Contrary to what many believe, cigarette butts are not harmless. They are made of cellulose acetate, a man-made plastic material, and contain hundreds of toxic chemicals. While cigarette filters, or the plastic part of butts, can take up to 10 years to completely degrade, the chemicals they release can remain in the environment for many more years beyond the life of the cigarette butt itself.

These lingering toxins include arsenic (also used in rat poisoning), lead (a poison that can affect the brain development of children), and nicotine. When these chemicals are improperly disposed of on the street corner, out the car window, or down a drain they slowly leach toxins into our natural water and soil systems, presenting a serious threat to people and the environment. 

This is especially true for low-income communities of color which tend to have higher smoking rates due to a long history of being targeted by the tobacco industry. Additionally, these communities  face systemic inequities that make it harder for them to access health information and resources when they fall ill. As if that weren’t enough, they also disproportionately receive inequitable waste management services, which can lead to greater effects from cigarette butt pollution, such as contaminated water ways. 

A 2022 study explains the effects of cigarette butts on marine life. Animals constantly ingest these plastics, which provokes serious health risks, including suffocation and increased mortality. The same research also explains how microplastics from cigarette butts have been found in human tissues, raising concerns about their potential health impacts. It is imperative to ensure that cigarette butts find their way to the waste bin or get sent to a recycling facility. Believe it or not there different programs such as TerraCycle that convert the acetate from butts into different things such as ashtrays and shipping palettes. Smokers should consider finding designated cigarette disposal units whenever they are not at home and smoking or even consider carrying their own “pocket ashtrays” to collect their waste. 

Cigarette butts are by far the largest single type of litter by count. Since the 1980s, cigarette butts have consistently accounted for 30-40% of all items picked up in annual international coastal and urban cleanups. This further stresses the need for comprehensive approaches to not only managing waste, but also controlling tobacco use and mitigating its broader environmental impacts.

Moreover, the new World Health Organization report states that the environmental impact of tobacco goes beyond littering with cigarette butts. Tobacco farming contributes to nearly 5% of global deforestation, with 200,000 hectares of wood biomass lost per year.

Like all litter, cigarette butts require labor intensive work to be removed from the environment. That’s where we step in. For five years, EARTHDAY.ORG has been driving cleanups worldwide through The Great Global Cleanup. Since 2019, we’ve seen 91 million people from 211 places, including 95% of the countries in the UN, come together to clear out a whopping 543,704 tons of waste. That’s over 1% of the world pitching in!

We have removed tons of waste, but more work remains to be done. We are continuing our efforts in 2024, and you can join us on this journey by signing up to either join a create your own clean up event. You can encourage others to do their part as well by reminding them of the dangers of smoking and by advocating for more comprehensive waste management systems.

We are calling on you to take action. Join us on this mission to create cleaner communities and a greener future.

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International Women’s Day originated at the dawn of the 20th century, a pivotal era marked by revolutionary ideals, sweeping transformations, and boundless expansion. A century ago, society was amid a profound period of progress and positive change. However, today — while the world grapples with shifting dynamics — these changes are not universally uplifting.

Now, our Earth is in need of green minds to spark creative solutions. This International Women’s Day, we are celebrating five trail-blazing women whose accomplishments move us toward a plastic-free future. 

Dianna Cohen

Dianna Cohen is not just a climate activist, but an artist as well. She studied biology, film, and art at UCLA, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She fuses her artistic talents with her environmental passions to create her legacy. 

CEO and Co-Founder of the Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC), Cohen uses plastic to create a visual and social impact. The PPC’s three pillars are to educate, connect, and advocate; what’s more, the artist fulfills these pillars in her personal life as well. Cohen has spoken around the world on stages big and small, including at the United Nations. As a speaker, she spreads messages about creating a more equitable and regenerative world, free from plastic. Notably, she gave a TED talk in 2010 titled “Tough Truths About Plastic Pollution.”

A recipient of the Global Green Environment Award, the Snow Angel Award, and the Environmentalist of the Year by SIMA, she has been recognized globally for her achievements. 

Nzambi Matee

With a degree in biochemistry, training in engineering, and a passion for the environment, it is no surprise that Nzambi Matee created a solution to sustainable and recyclable construction materials. Born and raised in Kenya, she realized there was a dire need to improve waste management. 

Founder of Gjenge Makers Ltd., Matee takes plastic waste and converts it into sustainable and affordable building materials in Nairobi, Kenya. With a degree in mechanical engineering, she realized she could combine her education with her passion for sustainability to make something meaningful. Her enterprise is transforming communities in Nairobi, as she helps people understand the value of recycled materials while simultaneously managing waste. 

Because of her successes, she has received the Award for Conservation in Africa and the UN Young Champion of the Earth Award. Matee is working to increase employment and product offerings to secure the company’s market penetration. 

Vili Petrova

Born and raised in Bulgaria, Vili Petrova moved to the United States to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Lesley University in Massachusetts. Previously, while working as a trend forecaster, she realized how much our choices as consumers define our future. With interests in further exploring both her own health and the planet’s well-being, she was inspired to create Lena Cup. 

Founder of Lena Cup, Petrova uses locally sourced materials and sustainable packing to further remove her menstrual cup company from plastics. She made her passion reality in 2015 with Lena Cup, and she continues to spread awareness of the benefits and greater impacts of reusable menstrual cups. Petrova also donates menstrual cups to young girls in developing countries, and is working to expand this donation program to improve women’s health globally. She continues to study female health and well-being, with an aim to create the best possible product for those in need. 

Karuna Singh

Karuna Singh is the Country Director of Earth Day Network, whose work is inspired by EARTHDAY.ORG. Additionally, she is the regional director for EDO Asia, overseeing some 25 countries. 

A champion in the fight against plastic, Singh has guided EARTHDAY.ORG events that actively work to reduce plastic pollution. With the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), she helped lead a 100-day campaign against plastic, where cloth was used instead of plastic for bags in markets. Singh has spoken about the climate crisis at international conferences, including the UN Conference of Parties (COP). Her work is commonly featured in print and electronic media around the world. 

Dedicated to promoting the reduction of plastic, Singh helped put together an eBook documenting how municipal bodies have legislated against plastic. Through this book and her other work, she strives to spread examples that others can emulate. 

​​Collectively, these women have inspired a plastic-free future through activism, art, business, and education. Their work stems from a need for change, but ultimately inspires a want for change. Their stories are valuable, their voices are heard, and they deserve to be celebrated every day, not just today.

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Plastic is piling up around us. We keep creating more and more single-use plastics each day and sending them directly to landfills. By making this non-biodegradable waste for so many years, we’ve created a global problem that we can’t seem to escape. We try to give plastics a second life with recycling, but so few recyclables are actually sent to the correct facilities and reused. The writing seems to be on the wall: the plastics crisis is too complex for one simple solution.

But where conventional recycling has failed in dealing with excessive plastic waste, a different sort of recycling promises to excel. Proponents of chemical recycling claim that this process is the future of plastic waste, but others are quick to point out its harmful effects. Policymakers, scientists, and environmentalists continue to debate the question: is chemical recycling going to save us, or only plunge us deeper into an environmental crisis?

What is chemical recycling?

Chemical recycling is an umbrella term encompassing several different technologies designed to extract base chemicals and polymers from plastic. It can be used as a complement to mechanical recycling by breaking down difficult products, such as films and laminated plastics, thus creating a recycling system that is able to process a wider variety of plastic items. By reducing polymers to their “building blocks,” chemical recycling can also produce recycled material with the integrity of virgin plastics. 

The complicated and technical methods of chemical recycling include gasification, hydro-cracking, and most importantly, pyrolysis. This last process holds great potential because it can convert plastic waste into oil that can be used for furnaces, boilers, turbines, and diesel engines, thereby keeping plastics out of landfills while simultaneously reducing our reliance on extracting additional fossil fuels for plastic production. 

In addition to plastic and energy outputs, pyrolysis results in byproducts such as char, a carbon-rich material that can be sold off and used for cookstoves, road surfacing, and improving soil quality. From start to finish, chemical recycling has the potential to be incredibly profitable — one estimate places revenue opportunities in the U.S. and Canada at $120 billion over the next few years. 

Adopting this technology appears to be an obvious fix for our plastics crisis, and the plastics industry would seem to agree, as there are already 11 facilities currently operating across the U.S. alone. But scientists and environmentalists claim that the process is rife with significant environmental and health downsides that only exacerbate existing concerns. 

The bigger (and darker) picture 

The primary concern with chemical recycling is the output and byproducts. Pyrolysis produces gasses in addition to the aforementioned char, which are all highly contaminated from the chemical additives used in the recycling process. Benzene, lead, cadmium, and chromium are just a few of the chemicals involved in chemical recycling that are known to have adverse health effects. Not only can they enter local air and water around these facilities, but thousands of pounds of hazardous waste each year is generated from recycling plants, shipped across the country, and burned miles away from their point of origin. 

These industry practices are especially concerning because studies have shown that these facilities and disposal sites are located in low-income areas and communities of color. Environmental justice advocates say that these communities already suffer health outcomes from other industries that release toxic chemicals into the environment, and these chemical recycling facilities will only make the problem worse. It also requires a significant amount of energy, producing more greenhouse gas emissions and negating the supposed benefits from producing alternative fuel. 

Putting environmental and health concerns aside, opponents say the process requires significant improvements before it can be widely adopted. Even those who support chemical recycling claim that scalability is a sizable obstacle, one that cannot be easily overcome without substantial infrastructure improvements and government investment. But is this the most promising solution that the government should be funding? 

The major problem with chemical recycling is that it absolves the plastic industry of responsibility. By offering this “perfect” solution, companies can continue to produce just as much plastic as ever or even scale up their operations. It does not change the bigger picture, which is that plastic is created from our highly pollutive dependence on fossil fuels. Continuing plastic production with a “business as usual” mindset will only result in more emissions and more overflowing landfills. 

Chemical recycling may seem promising in a vacuum, but the history of conventional recycling reminds us that extending the life cycle of plastic is not sufficient. We need to deal with the issue at the source and demand a reduction in plastic production now. If you agree, sign our Global Plastics Treaty petition to show your support for decisive action to combat plastics. 

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Valentine’s Day has been celebrated since about 496 AD and has a sweet history of giving loved ones boxed chocolates; beautiful flowers wrapped in colorful, patterned gift wrap; and romantic delight. It’s a festive holiday filled with anything and everything that can be heart-shaped, pink, and wrapped in plastic. 

This year, my boyfriend — who is in a different country 3,000 miles away — generously bought me flowers and is having them sent to me as a kind gesture for our long-distance Valentine’s Day. Although we can’t physically be together, he made sure to show me he cares on the big day of love. They will come in a nice glass vase, pink plastic wrapping, and might even have a meaningful card attached.

I think of my boyfriend’s gesture as romantic and kind — something to close the distance between us. But I couldn’t help thinking about how flowers, a product of nature, will be encased in plastic, an artificial material. You may think that acts like these are generous; however, these gifts are not as loving to the environment as you are to your partner. Many gifts, whether they be chocolates or flowers, are problematic due to their excessive use of plastic packaging and their harmful means of creation. 

It is common for these mass-produced, over-consumed gifts to come packaged in a plastic case, often of the single-use variety. Annually, 380 million tons of plastic are produced on a global scale with half counting as single-use. In addition, these plastics are not recycled or biodegradable. Nearly 36% of all plastic makes up packaging specifically, which invites us to think more about how much we use on Valentine’s Day to wrap a gift for our loved one. Not only do they add to waste, they are also largely produced using fossil fuels, which contribute 75% of greenhouse gas emissions. 99% of plastics are made by the same fossil fuel chemicals that pollute the atmosphere.

It feels great to get gifts and small tokens on Valentine’s Day: makeup, skincare, a nice dress, etcetera. They’re a great way to show someone you care; however, a lot of these products are produced using fossil fuels and microplastics. In the production of fast fashion-type clothing and even in your daily skincare products, which likely contains microplastics produced from fossil fuels. In addition, these products are likely neither fair trade nor ethically sourced.

The flowers themselves also pose a threat to the ecological health of our planet due to their unethical use of pesticides and the amount of waste they produce. The flowers you see in grocery stores and pharmacies fall short of the beauty they hold when they are thrown in waste baskets a week later Not only do they create more waste, but the means of transportation used to deliver the flowers in the first place are responsible for producing yet more carbon emission to the tune of 360,000 metric tons of carbon. 

Having delectable treats and food on Valentines is yet another staple of the holiday. Partners from all around the United States flock to grocery stores and pharmacies to get a tasty treat for their loved one. It is not just the plastic wrappings on your loved heart-shaped box that are bad for the planet but the cocoa used to make them is also an issue. Cocoa bean harvesting has caused a chain reaction of deforestation in West African forests. With the increasing demand for chocolate worldwide, deforestation has begun to accelerate. 

So with all of this said, it might be wise to skip the plastic-wrapped flowers, polyester fast fashion glitter dress, plastic wrapped chocs, and the expensive moisturizer as gifts this Valentine’s Day for the sake of the environment. 

There are many ways to ditch plastics, reduce your carbon footprint, and opt for a better and healthier gift for your partner and for the Earth. Some ready examples include handmade or upcycled items, biodegradable gifts and gift wrap made with recycled paper. You can also opt for glass and metal containers to place your flowers (or gifts) into. Keep in mind that using glass and metal containers may reduce the need to purchase more containers in the future too, so make sure to reuse them instead of buying new next year.

If you’re feeling extra energetic, you can purchase plantable paper, which includes seeds and is easy to grow on your own. These offer a reusable option that you can use for next year’s Valentine’s Day and more. Giving with a green thumb is also a popular option. Potting and gardening your own flowers in a biodegradable pot can cut down on the unnecessary plastics and even the carbon footprint used to transport and hold the flowers. To grow them during colder months, you can utilize heat lamps or a trusty greenhouse. 

If you want to opt for a better chocolate option that doesn’t risk deforestation or waste, you can purchase the sweets from a fair trade brand. This ensures that the cocoa is harvested ethically and does not contribute to the global environmental crisis. In addition, you can also buy organic products and foods that do not use pesticides or harmful chemical fertilizers. Finally, if you want to save money and support the planet, give the gift of experiences. That way, you, your partner, and the Earth are happy and don’t have to deal with the waste.

Valentine’s Day is the day of love. We must take into consideration what we are giving so the day of love is truly loving to everyone, including earth, our home. You can also spread the love through giving as well. Donate to EARTHDAY.ORG or The Canopy Project to fight and stand up for a more sustainable and healthy future for our planet. Send a Valentine’s day eCard to a loved one by making a donation instead of material goods. Sign the Global Plastics Treaty and learn about our 2024 theme for the environmental movement, Planet vs. Plastics, to take action for a better and more “loving” future for our planet.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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