The Head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq, Fadhel Al-Gharawi, demanded today, Sunday, the government and the concerned authorities to reduce the consumption of plastic materials, increase recycling, and reduce leaks to a minimum to prevent plastic pollution.
Al-Gharawi said in a statement, “Plastic pollution threatens the lives of citizens and the environment in Iraq. It also directly affects biological diversity.”
He added, “Countries in the East Asia and Pacific region disposed of 686 million metric tons of plastic waste in 2023, or about 31% of the world’s waste.”
He continued: “Without major changes in environmental policy in Iraq on a large scale, the rate at which plastic enters the daily life environments in Iraq will increase by about 2.6 times from 2022 to 2040, which portends a major plastic pollution disaster.”
Al-Gharawi called on the government and the concerned authorities to reduce the consumption of plastic materials, increase recycling, reduce leaks to a minimum to prevent plastic pollution, establish waste management facilities and recycling plants in all governorates of Iraq, strengthen the national policy related to waste management, separate waste at the source, and develop new business models to improve the integration of waste management.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency