WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2025: A CAMPAIGN TO END GLOBAL PLASTIC POLLUTION

 

 Environmentalist U S Moinuddin collects plastic waste from a construction site in support of the 2025 World Environment Day theme Ending Plastic Pollution.

BENGALURU: Every year the World Environment Day is celebrated on the 5^th of June, across the world with a different theme. The theme for the World Environment Day 2025 is “Ending Plastic Pollution.” It is a global campaign led by the United Nations Environment Programme.  This theme focuses on the immediate need to reduce and eliminate plastic waste from our planet. The campaign aims to strengthen global commitment by mobilizing communities, industries, and governments to this cause and bring upon collective action for a sustainable future free from plastic pollution. The day is now observed in over 150 countries, inspiring clean-up drives, tree planting efforts, environment awareness campaigns, school and college activities, and eco-friendly pledges by individuals and groups. For the World Environment Day 2025, the host country is the Republic of Korea. Jeju Province in the Republic of Korea was chosen as the host location for World Environment Day. In 2022, the province declared to become free of plastic pollution by 2040.

 For decades, plastic pollution has seeped into every corner of the world, leaching into the water we drink, into the food we eat, and our bodies. While plastic pollution is a major concern, it is also one of the most fixable of today’s environmental challenges, with some easy and practical solutions at hand.

 Plastic pollution is visible everywhere, in oceans, on roadsides, and even in remote forests. The 2025 theme calls on every stakeholder, from individuals and companies to policymakers, to reduce plastic waste.

World Environment Day 2025 theme promotes sustainable alternatives like cloth bags, reusable containers, and biodegradable packaging. The campaign encourages everyone to make mindful choices that reduce plastic consumption.

 Plastic Pollution in India

Environmentalist U S Moinuddin

India  is responsible for nearly one-fifth of the total plastic waste produced globally. The country generates nearly 9.3 to 9.5 million tonnes of plastic waste every year.

·      Plastic litter clogs drains, harms wildlife, and contaminates soil and water. 

·      Close to 5.8 million tonnes of plastic waste are burned annually, releasing toxic pollutants.

·      Urban areas, especially metros like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, face major waste management challenges. 

·      It affects India’s vast coastline, as marine species often consume plastic, mistaking it for food, which disrupts the marine ecosystem.

 Measures to Curb Plastic Pollution

India is taking steps to reduce plastic waste, both at the national and local levels. Some effective and innovative initiatives include:

 Plastic roads: Cities like Ahmedabad are using shredded plastic waste in road construction. This not only reuses plastic but also increases road durability.

 Railway initiatives: In Bhopal, Indian Railways has launched campaigns for tree plantation, water conservation, and plastic-free stations.

 Reverse vending machines: In Karnataka, authorities have installed machines that offer ₹1 in exchange for plastic bottles, encouraging recycling.

 Eco-tourism zones: In Coimbatore, forest officials collected over 11 tonnes of plastic from trekking areas and introduced deposit-return schemes for plastic bottles.

 School awareness programs: Several states are introducing plastic-free campaigns in schools, making young students part of the solution.

 ONE TREE BY ONE PERSON: An Environment Movement to make India and the World Greener

One Tree by One Person, a revolutionary environment movement to make India and the world greener was introduced by environmentalist U S Moinuddin in the year 2002. The agenda of this movement is to encourage tree planting and educate the masses about the role of trees in our ecosystem.

People love trees, but most of them do not make an effort to plant them as they get engrossed in their day-to-day activities. To make tree planting more realistic and easier, U S Moinuddin began to promote the idea of “One Tree by One Person,” according to which, a person is required to plant at least one sapling during their lifetime and take care of it. As of 2025 the population of Bengaluru is 1.4 Crore, if every resident takes an initiative of planting one sapling, then the city will have over 1 Crore trees in addition to the trees that already exist. If every Indian takes an initiative of planting a sapling, then there would be 145 crore trees. Likewise, if every person across the earth plants a sapling, then there will be 8.2 billion trees in addition to the trees that already exist.

In overcrowded cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkotta how does one plant so many trees? That is the usual question asked by many. “Nature gives us varieties of trees. Where there is more space you camn plant a Rain tree, Banyan tree, Peepal tree, Sausage tree, Melia Dubia, Tabebuia Rosea, Gulmohar, Peltophorum Pterocarpum(Copper Pod), Mango, Tamarind, Cannon Ball tree(Nagalinga) and other big trees, where there is less space you can plant Silver Oak, Honge, Singapore Cherry and other small and medium size trees.” Moinuddin answers.

This movement is attracting people of all age groups. Students across schools and colleges, office employees, housewives, factory workers and others have sworn to plant trees and make our environment healthy and beautiful. U S Moinuddin has been constantly meeting people and encouraging them to support this campaign where one can witness a Greener India and a Greener Earth. He has also planted a large number of saplings and also takes out rallies and distributes saplings for free.

One Tree by One Person is also inspiring people in Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Bahrain, Poland, Russia, New Zealand and America.

“Global Warming is a serious problem; the Earth is becoming warmer and warmer as a result of the toxic gases generated from the vehicles, forest fires, factories and deforestation. As a result, the Polar ice caps can melt, rising the sea levels. When the sea levels rise, islands such as Lakshadweep, Maldives, and hundreds of other islands including the Southern part of India, which is a Peninsula can get submerged under water. Planting trees can slow down the global warming process to a very large extent.” Moinuddin further states.

With the concept of One Tree by One Person, the deserts can become green, the barren lands can become productive, the temperature in the cities will decrease, and the trees will attract rain replenishing the decreasing water table. This is one campaign that will truly make the Earth a greener place to live in.

One Tree by One Person is a vision oriented Movement. It is not about a single person or a group of people taking an initiative of planting trees, but it is about every person across the earth, becoming responsible citizens of the planet, for a greener and safer earth.

In 1972, the United Nations General Assembly designated 5 June as World Environment Day. The first celebration, under the slogan “Only One Earth” took place in 1973. In the following years, World Environment Day has developed as a platform to raise awareness on the problems facing our environment such as air pollution, plastic pollution, illegal wildlife trade, global warming, food security, encouraging appropriate actions so that drylands do not become deserts, sustainable consumption, sea-level increase, protecting seas and oceans from pollution, over population which can put pressure on resources and can worsen environmental problems,  among others. Furthermore, World Environment Day helps in influencing national and international environmental policies.

 World Environment Day 2025 calls upon everyone to focus on their plastic consumption habits and to participate actively in efforts to reduce plastic pollution.