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EARTHDAY.ORG, the global force behind Earth Day, organized a 2000-person rally and Great Global Cleanup event at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare on Friday, April 26. Government ministers, university leaders, and the city council were all in attendance.
The EARTHDAY.ORG theme for 2024 is PLANET VS PLASTICS and has been driving home the message that plastics are not inert. Research is finding that plastics break down into tiny fragments called microplastics, which leach out toxic plastic chemicals. They are both associated with a wide range of human health issues from Alzheimer’s to strokes to male infertility to cancers.
“Plastics in one form or another have contaminated our soil, our air, and our water,” said Kathleen Rogers, the President of EARTHDAY.ORG. “Plastics are in our food chain and by default, inside all of us, we are inhaling them in from the air we breathe. The public must know this.”
Babies seem the most at risk with evidence microplastics can interrupt maternal-fetal communication and potentially damage DNA. Reports have linked microplastics to autism and other endocrine disruption issues which can amongst other things manifest as early onset puberty, as well as association with some cancers, including in the prostate gland of fetuses.
“For too long most African people consume unknowingly due to limited knowledge. Moreover, the voices of the people of Africa have not been listened to on this significant issue. Plastics, microplastics, and their toxic chemicals are hurting the environment, affecting biodiversity, and damaging human health,” said Jean-Betrand Mhandu EARTHDAY.ORG.’s Co-ordinator for Africa, based in Zimbabwe. “It is this continent which is paying the highest price as plastic trash from the global north is dumped across Africa as well as contaminating our oceans with trillions of microplastics.”
To help generate even more awareness, about this critically critical issue EARTHDAY.ORG worked with Extra Credit Projects to create an advertising campaign showcasing the dangers of plastics – which was supported by Alliance Media, across Africa.
“This incredible campaign is about alerting the public to the dangers of plastics and their additive chemicals. It is forthright because EARTHDAY.ORG believes that the plastic industry does not give a fork about Africa,” said Tom Cosgrove, Chief Creative and Content Officer for EARTHDAY.ORG.
About EARTHDAY.ORG: EARTHDAY.ORG’s founders created and organized the very first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. Since then, EARTHDAY.ORG has mobilized over 1 billion people annually on Earth Day, and every other day, to protect the planet. EARTHDAY.ORG’s mission is to diversify, educate, and activate the environmental movement worldwide. EARTHDAY.ORG is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 150,000 partners in nearly 192 countries to build environmental democracy. Learn more at EARTHDAY.ORG. It’s not a day, it’s a movement.