Nairobi, March 30, 2023 – Faced with the worsening effects of waste generation on human health, the economy and the environment, the world today celebrates for the first time the International zero waste daywhich invites everyone to limit and minimize waste and promotes societal change towards a circular economy.
“The waste crisis is reducing the planet’s capacity to support life. Waste costs the global economy several billion dollars every year,” said United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres in a video message on the occasion of the International Zero Waste Day. “Using nature as a dump, we dig our own graves. Now is the time to reflect on the footprint of waste on our planet, and to find solutions to the most dangerous of threats. »
Established by a United Nations General Assembly resolution following other waste-related resolutions, including the commitment made on 2 March 2022 by the United Nations Environment Assembly to establish a global agreement to end plastic pollution, International Zero Waste Day is jointly managed by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat). This event calls on all stakeholders, including governments, civil society, businesses, academia, communities, women and youth, to take part in activities to raise awareness of zero waste initiatives.
Humanity produces more than two billion tons of municipal solid waste each year, 45% of which is mismanaged. Without immediate action, this total will reach almost four billion tonnes by 2050. Waste comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, from plastics, residues from mining activities and construction sites, to products electronics or food. Their repercussions disproportionately affect the poor, up to four billion people without access to controlled waste disposal facilities.
International Zero Waste Day aims to expose the myriad impacts of waste to the eyes of the world and to promote global action at all levels to reduce pollution and waste.
“Waste management is crucial to overcoming housing challenges, ensuring functional sanitation in cities and, of course, addressing the climate crisis,” said UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif. “It is essential to improve the lives of people everywhere. »
In its resolution establishing the International Day of Zero Waste, the United Nations General Assembly highlighted the potential of zero waste initiatives and called on all stakeholders to carry out “activities aimed at raising awareness of zero waste initiatives at national levels, sub-national, regional and local and their contribution to the achievement of sustainable development”.
Promoting the adoption of zero waste initiatives can contribute to all of the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including sustainable development goal 11 aimed at making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, and sustainable development goal 12 aimed at establishing sustainable consumption and production patterns.
“We must act now,” says UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. “We have the technical expertise and the will to innovate. We have the knowledge, both scientific knowledge and indigenous knowledge, to find solutions to the waste crisis. »
“The first International Zero Waste Day is a great opportunity to build on local, regional and national initiatives to promote environmentally responsible waste management and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” adds she.
Türkiye, which introduced this resolution alongside 105 other countries, is among the leaders of the zero waste movement. Türkiye launched its zero waste project in 2017 under the aegis of Her Excellency Emine Erdoğan, the country’s first lady. On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, in 2022, the first lady of Türkiye and the UN Secretary-General signed an act of goodwill aimed at expanding the country’s zero waste project globally.
“This zero waste project, which we launched five years ago, is an important step in the concrete response to nature’s call for help”, underlined Her Excellency Emine Erdoğan. “The zero waste approach has grown over the years, person after person, city after city and region after region, to become a global movement beyond the borders of our country. I sincerely believe that this date will mark the dawn of better days for the planet: our common home. »
To celebrate International Zero Waste Day, businesses, governments, nonprofits, and other entities are organizing events around the world. These include, for example, community information sessions, campaigns for the collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment and food collections, fashion shows, photographic exhibitions or conferences.
The President of the United Nations General Assembly will convene a high-level meeting in New York that will serve as a platform for sharing the experiences and successes of Member States in the development and implementation of security solutions and technologies. solid waste management.
UNEP, including through its “One Planet” network, and UN-Habitat will deploy concerted communications campaigns and efforts on the sidelines of the International Zero Waste Day celebrations that will take place every 30 March in order to continue to rally support and promote action to highlight the importance of zero waste.
NOTES TO EDITORS
About International Zero Waste Day
International Zero Waste Day, celebrated for the first time on March 30, 2023 and jointly managed by UNEP and UN-Habitat, aims to raise awareness of the importance of the zero waste approach, consumption and production practices as well as the management of urban waste in contributing to the achievement of sustainable development. This event calls for rethinking our practices and adopting the principles of the circular economy, which means reducing the use of resources and emissions into the environment at all stages of the product life cycle, an essential step in tackling the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss and pollution, and putting the planet, and humanity, on the path to health and prosperity.
About the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
UNEP is the world’s leading environmental authority. Its mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in environmental protection by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
About the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat)
UN-Habitat is the United Nations entity responsible for sustainable urbanization. It has programs in over 90 countries that provide support to policy makers and communities to create socially and environmentally sustainable cities and towns. UN-Habitat promotes transformative change in cities through knowledge mobilization, policy support, technical assistance and collaborative action.
For more information, please contact:
Information and Media Unit, UNEP;
Information and Media Unit, UN-Habitat.