Human appetite for plastics continues to grow at an alarming rate, as unsustainable as it is unnecessary. This year alone, the world is projected to consume more than half a billion tons of plastic — a nearly 30% jump in just 12 months. Even in the best-case scenario, only one-fifth of that waste is economically recyclable, whereas in reality less than one-tenth is recycled.

What happens to the remaining 90% of waste, much of it which can last up to 500 years, is a tragedy of our own making. Plastics have become omnipresent — found everywhere, from the peaks of remote mountains and depths of oceans to the tissues of human bodies and even unborn foetuses, as well as the food we eat. What began as a revolutionary material for convenience and efficiency is now deeply entwined with one of the planet’s most pressing environmental and health threats.

The growing crisis of plastic pollution is threatening our collective future. This World Environment Day, there is an urgent need for the citizens of the world to come together and agree on ways to end plastic pollution, including by phasing out single-use plastics.

Our consumption patterns and dependence on plastics must change. This depends on the choices we make, including shaping industries, shifting markets and redefining our collective future. Together, we can bring about an end to plastic pollution.

We know plastics have brought many benefits to modern life, from energy efficiency to health care products. And some industries have found them particularly useful. Agriculture and its allied sectors, for example, have used plastics to deliver safe, fresh food to consumers.

But our addiction to plastic has now far exceeded its value addition and ability to absorb. It is time for an urgent cost-benefit correction that fully accounts for........

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