Plastics polluting our oceans could pose health hazard - UN President

The President of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces has backed calls for a total ban on single-use plastics as a way to deal with the plastic waste menace in Ghana.

She made this remarks at a press interaction with Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey when she arrived in Ghana on Wednesday, 8 May 2019.

Ms Garcés is on a four-day state visit to Ghana to, among other things, emphasize the importance of strengthening multilateralism as the best option for responding to global crises and challenges.

Addressing journalists, the UN President lamented the use of single-use plastics in Ghana and across some parts of the world.

“We are launching a world campaign against single-use plastics. We know that about 30 million tonnes of plastic flow to our oceans every year and this is killing the oceans, and this is polluting the fish, and this is coming to our bodies, affecting our health and this is really one of the most pressing environmental issues.

“This global campaign is aimed precisely at calling the attention of producers and consumers as well to look for alternative materials. So, stop using single-use plastics and this is the agenda or issue that needs to be taken up by the youth or young people and I think we need to change our priorities as consumers and if we are able to do that it will be great.” She said.

She further encouraged producers to find alternatives materials and put a stop to the usage of single-use plastics in order to save our environment.



Background

Billions of pounds of plastic can be found in swirling convergences in the oceans making up about 40 percent of the world's ocean surfaces. 80 percent of pollution enters the ocean from the land.

These plastics pose a lot of health hazards to our environment and there have been talks about how to deal with this menace for so many years. The UN says it will do everything within its power to provide a remedy to control the use of plastics.