Each year, a staggering 400 million tons of plastic is manufactured worldwide, with half of it being intended for single-use purposes. Less than 10 percent of this plastic is actually recycled which means that an estimated 19-23 million tons of plastic find their way into lakes, rivers, and oceans annually - equivalent to the weight of approximately 2,200 Eiffel Towers.
As plastic breaks down, it generates microplastics, minuscule plastic particles, measuring up to 5mm in diameter, that permeate our food, water, and even the air we breathe. It is estimated that each individual on the planet ingests over 50,000 plastic particles every year, and the numbers escalate further when inhalation is taken into account.
Recycling is simply not enough as, according to recent studies, this process generates more microplastic or even toxic chemicals.
Today it's World Environment Day, a global platform for public environmental outreach. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), this day to promote worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment has been observed annually on June 5th since 1973.
This year's event is hosted by Côte D'Ivoire and highlights the urgent need for collective action with a focus on raising awareness about plastic environmental damage with the slogan #BeatPlasticPollution. It is indeed vital to reevaluate as soon as possible the design of various products and the packaging of products as well, while promoting reuse, refill, and recyclability.
Throughout Africa, innovative initiatives abound, like Rwanda's support for local factories transitioning to bamboo and paper-based materials after banning single-use plastic bags, but it's not enough yet as plastic pollution in Africa and, in particular in its coastal regions, must still be properly addressed.
Global North countries should also take a cue from Africa and adopt the country's ethics of reuse and repair. To do so, we can take some tips from some of the artists included in the exhibition "Polymères Arts Plastiques" that kicked off today at the Adama Toungara Museum of Contemporary Cultures (MuCAT) in Abobo, a northern suburb of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast.
The event - accompanied by a photographic reportage to raise awareness among visitors about consumer sobriety and waste reduction - focuses on the creative and innovative use of recycled plastic by contemporary artists from the Ivorian art scene. The exhibition includes twelve artists committed to environmental protection and waste reduction.
Jean-Servais Somian, who trained in Côte d'Ivoire and Switzerland, combines in his works traditions with modernity, using coconut wood, ebony, or amazaque, but, for the functional stools he has on display at the museum, he employed plastic basins and Dutch wax fabric.
Dramane Bamana creates instead artworks using plastic strips collaged on canvas: while the technique calls to mind mosaics, the final effect is that of a seeing painting.
Mounou Desiré Koffi gives a second life to high-tech objects incorporating keyboards, screens and parts of mobile phones in his works that raise awareness about our consumption of technological devices.
Koffi was inspired to use mobile phones in his canvases after seeing children in his neighborhood playing with cell phones that, too old to be kept or repaired, litter the streets of Abidjan.
Among the most original artists on display, there is Aristide Kouamé who recycles flip-flops in his works. This material has been used by different artists, but Kouamé employs it in a very original way, carving into the sole of the flip-flops faces and letters and forming with them portraits that look like graffiti, but retain a Pop Art touch.
Yet these artists shouldn't be inspiring just for World Environment Day: their ability to repurpose and reimagine materials serves indeed as a powerful reminder that we all have a role to play in preserving our planet and in creating a brighter and greener future for generations to come.
Comments