Mushin to the World Organisation takes concrete steps to combat plastic pollution
Nigerian Not-For-Profit Organisation kicks off World Environment Day on the streets of the Alamutu community in Mushin, Lagos.
By Naomi Salami
It has been 50 years since the first World Environment Day. After the United Nations General Assembly declared June 5th to be World Environment Day in 1972 to promote awareness of the issues affecting our environment, the effort got its start. “Only one Earth” served as the theme of the first commemoration, which took place in 1973. This year’s theme highlights the dangers of plastic pollution on the environment with the theme “Solutions to Plastic Pollution” followed by the hashtag, #BeatPlasticPollution”.
The Mushin To The World Foundation has taken the initiative to do its bit of standing against the various environmental challenges. The youth-led, Not-For-Profit Organisation whose sole aim is to re-engineer the mindset of the youths of the Mushin community. They were founded to improve the development of the community in line with the United Nation’s 17 sustainable development goals by 2030.
Members of the organisation visited the Alamutu community and commemorated World Environment Day with a clean-up and sensitisation program, with the 2023 theme of the WED, Beat Plastic Pollution on June 3rd 2023.
EnviroNews Nigeria reports that only 12% of the nation’s annual production of 2.5 million tonnes of plastic garbage is recycled. The remainder winds up in landfills, waterways, and seas, where it destroys our ecosystems and leads to the extinction of marine species. It also poses health risks to both humans and animals alike.
The initiative’s speakers covered the risks of plastic pollution, the value of recycling plastic, the adoption of eco-friendly practices in daily life, and other topics. Over 20 local volunteers from within the community helped with the cleanup, which reportedly took three and a half hours.
The 50th anniversary of World Environment Day will be celebrated on June 5th, 2023, in Côte d’Ivoire. Since banning plastic bags in 2014, the nation has continued to take the lead in the fight against plastic pollution by promoting the use of reusable packaging.
Credit: Enviro News
