The Kuwait Environment Protection Society called for organizing a “national campaign to clean the coasts and desert areas of plastic until the complete elimination of bags blown by the wind and plastic bottles, and the development of national and regional plans to reduce marine plastic waste, in addition to directing graduate students to conduct more research on plastic in marine soil and seawater, and then on marine organisms and finally humans,” said Mahmoud Tifouni, the Society’s treasurer, on the occasion of the fiftieth celebration of World Environment Day, which this year carries the slogan “Beat Plastic Pollution.”.
Tifoni said, “The Environment Society joined the world on Monday in celebrating the 50th anniversary of World Environment Day, an event led by the United Nations Environment Programme to be one of the largest global platforms for environmental awareness, with millions around the world participating to protect the planet.” He explained that the Society has a long record of raising awareness, making demands, and proposing initiatives in this regard.
He stated that “the Sabah Al-Ahmad Center for Environmental Training at the Society organized the scientific seminar (Kuwait Sea Free of Plastic), which is a seminar that serves specialists in the field of marine pollution and coastal management, with the aim of bringing together efforts to identify the problem at hand, which is microplastic pollution, which is used in many industries and ends up in the seas and oceans, and to find possible ways to reduce it,” noting the participation of about 50 experts from Kuwait, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the Arab Republic of Egypt and Germany, representing government agencies, civil organizations and Kuwaiti and Arab universities, and through which the experts presented 13 recommendations and proposals for plastic pollution.“.
Tifoni noted a package of recommendations and proposals presented by experts and participants in the symposium, including “spreading environmental awareness among all segments of society in order to preserve the marine environment (Kuwait Sea), calling for a ban on the use of plastic and single-use plastic bags and replacing them with environmentally friendly bags (which can be used more than once), as well as continuous monitoring and enforcement of the law on how to use and handle plastic materials and the use of environmentally friendly or biodegradable plastic.”.
The treasurer of the Environmental Protection Association called for “coordination between governmental and non-governmental bodies, organizations, and civil associations concerned with environmental issues in preserving and protecting the environment from pollution in general and from marine plastic pollution in particular, in addition to adopting better environmentally friendly options to replace plastic, recycling plastic materials, and making bags to carry products from multi-use fabrics.”.
Mahmoud Tifouni added, “With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the World Health Organization’s recommendation to use disposable food plates and other items, the use of plastic has increased, which necessitates the enactment of legislation that obliges the supplier to bring in environmentally friendly plastic and also obliges restaurants in this regard.” He pointed out the “call to invest in waste management and recycling, as well as developing plans to reduce marine litter, mitigate its severity, and support environmentally friendly projects and products.”.
