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Zero Waste Day: UN calls for a war on garbage

These companies will also need to invest in waste management, recovery and recycling systems in communities where they operate, he added.  The UN chief urged countries, cities and local governments to develop and scale-up modern waste management systems, as well as policies that encourage re-using and recycling plastic bottles, ageing electronics and other items. 

‘Trashing our only home’ 

The head of the UN’s urban development agency, UN-Habitat, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, urged countries to be “waste wise”, including through finding value in reusing items before discarding them.  “We are trashing our only home,” he said.  “We’re spewing a torrent of waste and pollution that is affecting our environment, our economies, and our health.”  

War on waste 

Humanity currently generates more than two billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, which includes plastics, textiles, rotting food, discarded electronics, and debris from mining and construction sites.  The high-level meeting was held to raise awareness of the urgent need to transition to a “green” and circular economy that promotes sustainable production and consumption patterns. The move could save governments billions and create hundreds of thousands of jobs. “We need to urgently address the inefficiencies and inequalities in our agrifood systems to make them more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable,” he said. 

Secretary-General António Guterres addresses the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the role of zero waste as a transformative solution in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
As the Secretary-General bluntly put it, we are basically “treating our planet like a garbage dump”, warning that the messy mountain will reach four billion tonnes by 2050. 

As the Secretary-General bluntly put it, we are basically “treating our planet like a garbage dump”, warning that the messy mountain will reach four billion tonnes by 2050. 

As the Secretary-General bluntly put it, we are basically “treating our planet like a garbage dump”, warning that the messy mountain will reach four billion tonnes by 2050. 

The First Lady also highlighted the need for justice and equality when it comes to protecting the planet and combatting climate change.   

Be ‘waste wise’ 

Delivering the keynote address, Mrs. Erdoğan noted that all life on earth is connected but industrialization has led to the overconsumption that is polluting the planet.  The global population is on track to reach 10 billion by 2050, and demand for food and non-food agricultural products is also expected to rise by up to 56 per cent, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). 

Transforming food systems 

“Zero Waste is the first step towards creating waste-wise societies,” she said.  “The first step is to take responsibility and make a conscious effort to reduce our consumption of single-use plastics. Remember that everything we use and discard must go somewhere.”  UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe “All of us need to consider the origins and impacts of the goods and products we buy every day and rethink how we dispose of them,” he said.   Meeting this demand will require healthier and more sustainable food production and consumption, FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said in a video message. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

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