Race Against Plastic in Switzerland: Our Choices
1,075 views · Published 12 June 2018 · 0:47 · Indexed 14 November 2026
Channel: UN Environment Programme · 2018 · Science & Technology
On 5 June, a mass clean-up and symbolic swim sent a message on the effects of plastic pollution from the Olympic city of Lausanne to the world. The theme to the 2018 edition of #WorldEnvironmentDay was #BeatPlasticPollution. Over 8 million tonnes of plastic leak into the ocean each year, harming our health and that of marine life and slowing down our economies. To symbolize this drag on our way of life, swimmers held a Race Against Plastic in one of the largest lakes in Europe. The swimmers dragged balloons symbolising the weight of plastic waste produced per person in different world regions. One of the volunteer swimmers, Alejandro Laguna, UN Environmen’s Regional Information Officer of UN Environment in Europe, reflects on the impact of our daily choices and actions. Check out this other short video on the race: https://bit.ly/2tEYmsj That same morning divers and dozens of volunteers recovered and sorted 70 kg of plastic waste from the lake’s bed and shore in Lausanne. The waste included BBQs, mobile phones, a table and a large proportion of plastic. Around 5 500 kg of waste was recovered during a series of clean-ups organised by the Net’Léman initiative. You’ll find more information about the Race Against Plastic (including the winners!) and the clean-up on this press release: https://bit.ly/2L35Uw3 Read more about the 2018 edition of #WorldEnvironmentDay here: http://worldenvironmentday.global/ Find out more about #CleanSeas here: www.cleanseas.org Take part in the quest to #BeatPlasticPollution by playing tag! Will you stop using plastic straws? Or bring a bag with you to the shops? Make your pledge to end single-use plastics and nominate others to do the same. Find out more here: https://bit.ly/2sgSN3M Follow us on Twitter @UnEnvironmentEu and Facebook @unenvironmenteurope
