The way the world is going in less than 30 years there will be more plastic bottles in the ocean than fishes. The Delegation of the European Union (EU) in the Dominican Republic and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) called for Dominicans as a whole to drastically change the consumption model for a more sustainable one that guarantees harmony between people and the planet.
The campaign “Voy Con La Mía” was launched by the international entities as a call for proactive action in favor of the environment to prevent around 20 million single-use plastic bottles continue to impact the oceans.
The entities encourage people to use reusable items by carrying a reusable bottle for liquids to curb plastic pollution. The campaign also includes a digital challenge where people can post a video or photo with their reusable bottle and challenge another person/entity to do the same with the hashtag #VoyConLaMía.
To join the “Voy Con La Mía” campaign, just log on to voyconlamía.com, commit to start or continue on a path towards sustainable actions, and join the digital challenge. The campaign is present in social networks as @VoyconlamiaRD.
Public entities, academia, civil society and the private sector can also join and commit to promoting the reduction of single-use plastic in their daily activities.
The campaign is a call for a collective awakening in favor of a sustainable culture is a response to the crisis that plastic pollution represents. In less than 70 years, it went from two million tons to 350 million tons. According to the UN, more than one million plastic bottles are consumed every minute in the world today. If this trend is not reversed, there will be more plastics than fishes in the ocean by 2050.
During the socialization of the initiative, EU Ambassador Katja Afheldt and Inka Mattila from UNDP explained that the plastic problem represents a triple shock because it accelerates climate change, generates the loss of nature and biodiversity, and increases pollution.
“Caring for the environment is a global urgency. Plastic pollution affects us all. From the European Union we invite you to join this campaign and encourage all people to change their consumption habits towards more sustainable practices,” said Afheldt.
Mattila said, “For UNDP, as the lead UN development agency, this campaign is part of our global strategy to promote individual/local action and partnerships to counter plastic pollution.”
The magnitude of the global plastics crisis has led representatives from 175 countries to endorse a historic resolution to end plastic pollution and forge a legally binding international agreement by the end of 2024. In this context, the UN General Assembly also proclaimed 30 March as International Zero Waste Day.
Read more in Spanish:
Voy Con la Mia
El Dia
8 May 2023