Act now to beat plastic pollution – Granger
President David Granger on Tuesday called on Guyanese to act now to beat plastic pollution by curtailing their use of single use plastics and switching to environment friendly alternatives. According to a media release from the Ministry of The Presidency (MoTP), the President was at the time delivering his message for World Environment Day which was observed on Tuesday.
“The Cooperative Republic of Guyana joins with the rest of the world in observing World Environment Day 2018. This day, the most important day in the UN’s calendar of events dealing with the environment, is an opportunity for nations and peoples around the world to recommit to practical policies and sustained action to promote global environmental security,” the Head of State was quoted in the MoTP release, as saying.
The President reminded that he had urged greater environment responsibility on the part of all in his address to the High Level Segment Opening of the Third Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly which was held in Nairobi, Kenya, last December. He noted then that a clean environment was an entitlement of all and an elemental principle of environmental security.
“This year’s theme - “Beating Plastic Pollution” - reminds us that the indiscriminate and insanitary dumping of single-use plastics and other non-biodegradable substances threatens the health of citizens and the food they consume.
“Plastic pollution represents a serious challenge to Guyana’s environmental security. Plastic pollution is dangerous. It has contributed to congested drainage systems; resulted in flooding and insanitary conditions; depleted aquatic life and contaminated creeks, rivers, freshwater supplies and waters used for drinking, bathing, fishing and washing,” the President was further quoted in the MoTP statement as saying.
The head of state added that Guyana is on the way to becoming a ‘Green State’ and it was developing policies aimed at protecting the environment by reducing, and eventually eliminating, plastic pollution.