This Earth Day, activists are calling for an end to plastic pollution. DW has been following the impacts of disposable plastic and efforts to do away with it — by everyone from artists to policymakers.
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Plastics are everywhere. Made from fossil fuels, consuming energy only to be thrown away, piling up in landfills, clogging our oceans, and contaminating food chains — they somehow sum up everything that's wrong with how we treat our planet.
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Which is why this year, Earth Day – which has brought people around the world together every April 22 since 1970, to show their commitment to protecting our the planet — is taking on plastic pollution.
Plastic doesn't biodegrade — it sticks around forever. So it's no surprise so much of the stuff is polluting the environment.
Yet the statistics are shocking: We produce close to 300 million tons of plastic waste each year, and an estimated 8 million tons of that ends up in the sea. Some collects together to form "trash islands," including the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — recently estimated to be three times the size of France.
The Earth Day Network is calling on us all to pledge to cut our plastic use, and has a handy calculator to help you work out just how much trash you're contributing to this global problem.
The initiative is building on momentum that has been growing around the world. Ever more of us are trying to cut plastics out of lives, clean up our communities, and demanding that policy-makers and companies take action, too.
The plastic free challenge
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This week, the UK announced it would ban plastic straws, drinks stirrers and cotton buds, as campaigners push for the government to go further and ban all single-use non-recyclable plastics.
The Brits have in part been galvanized by the BBC TV series Blue Planet, which explores the wonders of marine life and draws attention to the threats posed to it by pollution. But they're not alone in demanding change.
The European Union plans to make all plastics recyclable by 2030; and in other parts of the world, plastic bags, for example, have been outlawed for years.
One thing is for sure: If revelations over the extent of plastic impacts on the natural world — and potentially, human health — goes on, the pressure will only become more intense.
Rivers of plastic
Most of the plastic that ends up in our oceans is carried there by eight rivers in Asia and two in Africa. They face many other environmental problems too.
Image: Imago/Xinhua/Guo Chen
1: Yangtze River
The Yangtze is Asia's longest river and the third-longest river in the world. It also tops the list of river systems through which the most plastic waste flows into the oceans, according to a recent study. The Yangtze flows into the East China Sea near Shanghai and is crucial to China's economy and ecology. The river basin is home to 480 million people — one-third of the country's population.
Image: Imago/VCG
2. Indus River
The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research found 90 percent of plastic flowing into oceans can be traced to 10 rivers. The Indus ranks second on the list. One of Asia's largest rivers, it flows through parts of India and Pakistan into the Arabian Sea, supporting millions of people. While much plastic enters rivers because of a lack of waste infrastructure, sewage systems contribute too.
Image: Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images
3. Yellow River
Plastic can enter the food chain as fish and other marine and freshwater animals ingest it. The Yellow River, said to be the cradle of Chinese civilization, is third on the plastic-waste list but that's not the only environmental problem with which it contends. Pollution has rendered much of the river's water undrinkable. Around 30 percent of its fish species are believed to have disappeared too.
Image: Teh Eng Koon/AFP/Getty Images
4. Hai River
Another of China's rivers, the Hai, comes in at number 4. It connects two of China's most populous metropolitan areas, Tianjin and Beijing, before flowing into one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, the Bohai Sea. The 10 river systems share traits, says the study. One is that they are located in densely populated areas with a lack of waste infrastructure and little awareness of recycling.
Image: Imago/Zumapress/Feng Jun
5. Nile River
Generally thought to be the world's longest river, the Nile flows through 11 countries before entering the Mediterranean Sea from Egypt. Some 360 million people live in the river basin where its waters support agriculture — the region's main economic activity. Irrigation and evaporation mean the river doesn't even reach the sea in dry periods. Still, it comes in at number five in the ranking.
Image: Imago/Zumapress
6. The Ganges
The Ganges is central to Indian spiritual life and provides water to more than half a billion people. Sewage, agricultural and industrial waste have made it one of the world's most polluted rivers, as have the multitudes of plastic that end up in it. Cleaning up the waste — as students are doing in this picture — is important, but experts say we must produce less and stop pollution at the source.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Kanojia
7. Pearl River
Here, workers clear floating waste from China's notoriously dirty Pearl River, which enters the South China Sea between Hong Kong and Macau. Sewage and industrial waste flow into the river delta, keeping apace with the region's incredible rate of urban expansion. Since the late 1970s, the delta has transformed from a mainly agricultural and rural region to one of the world's largest urban areas.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Goh Chai Hin
8. Amur/Heilong River
It's not until they hit urban and industrial areas that rivers feel the worst effects of pollution. Still, according to recent studies, plastic debris is even being found in remote and "pristine" locations. The Amur River rises in the hills of northeastern China and forms much of the border between China's Heilongjiang province and Russia's Siberia before it snakes out to the Sea of Okhotsk.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/Chu Fuchao
9. Niger River
The Niger is West Africa's main river, supporting over 100 million people and one of the planet's most lush ecosystems. It flows through five countries before entering the Atlantic Ocean from Nigeria. Plastic pollution aside, extensive dam construction is affecting water availability — and frequent oil spills in the Niger Delta have caused widespread water contamination.
Image: Getty Images
10. Mekong River
Dams are having major ecological and social impacts on the Mekong too. Around 20 million people live in the Mekong Delta. Many are dependent on fishing and agriculture for survival. The river flows through six countries in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and Laos, and is tenth on the list of river systems that carry most of the 8 million tons of plastic that are dumped into the seas each year.