By Priya Silwal
Today, we celebrate World Environment Day, the flagship campaign of the United Nations to raise awareness and showcase real-world solutions for the protection of our planet. This year’s theme, “Beat Plastic Pollution,” calls to adopt sustainable practices that help to tackle the growing plastic pollution at its source. Once emerged as a wonder material for its versatility, plastic has now become a long-lasting pollutant. When not properly recycled, safely landfilled, or incinerated, plastic waste poses serious threats to wildlife, human health, and ecosystems. Global plastic production has increased dramatically over the past decades, rising from just 2 million tonnes in 1950 to more than 450 million tonnes per year today (Ritchie et al., 2023). Half of all plastic is single-use and only 10 percent gets recycled. Each year, 19 to 23 million tonnes of plastic waste enter aquatic ecosystems, this figure is predicted to increase by 50 percent by 2040 (United Nations, 2025).
The Mismanaged Waste Index (MWI) data of 2024, published by the World Population Review, provides a country-level overview of how plastic waste is mismanaged around the globe. Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Central Asia, parts of Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe exhibit particularly high levels of waste mismanagement. Many of these nations are shaded in dark red on the global map, indicating a “very high” proportion of plastic that is dumped or burned in the environment due to inadequate waste management capacity. Yet this problem is not only created by these countries alone. High-income nations, despite appearing “low” or “very low” on the MWI map, are often among the largest consumers and producers of plastic. While some manage their waste effectively, many export their plastic waste to countries with poor environmental regulations and limited capacity for recycling or disposal. This represents a clear case of environmental injustice: those least responsible for plastic overconsumption face the detrimental impacts, while those most responsible externalize the problem elsewhere. In low-income nations, inadequate waste management is linked to nearly one million deaths each year (Davison, 2024).
Plastic pollution is no longer just an environmental issue – it is a public health crisis and barrier to sustainable development. Microplastics have been detected in human lungs, placentas, bloodstreams, and even newborns. The open burning of plastic waste emits toxic pollutants, contributing to air pollution and respiratory illness. Meanwhile, coastal economies suffer billions in losses each year due to polluted waterways, damaged ecosystems, and declining tourism and fisheries. As we mark World Environment Day 2025, the message is clear: beating plastic pollution requires global cooperation, support, and communication. From banning single-use plastics to creating a circular economy where waste is managed within the border, the time for action is now.
Sources
Davison, T. (2024). Plastic crisis: The most polluted countries in the world. CleanHub. https://blog.cleanhub.com/most-polluted-countries
Ritchie, H., Samborska, V., & Roser, M. (2023). Plastic pollution. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution
United Nations. (2025). World Environment Day: UN sounds alarm on plastic pollution crisis. https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164046
World Population Review. (2025). Plastic pollution by country 2025. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/plastic-pollution-by-country