Back to news

Beat Plastic Pollution

David James Molden

4 mins Read

70% Complete

The world united around the slogan “Beat Plastic Pollution” on World Environment Day. The slogan, motivated by increasing awareness of the vast volume of plastic – discarded, bottles, bags, straws, and discarded items – that reach the world’s oceans, draws attention to the impact of plastic on aquatic life. Let us take a moment to reflect on the relevance of the theme to our mountains.

As mountain areas change, as manufactured goods and visitors from outside flood mountain villages, towns, and trekking routes in increasing numbers, many places find themselves overwhelmed by indiscriminately discarded garbage. From the kora around Mt Kailash to the slopes of Mt Everest, the natural beauty of these landscapes are blighted by unsightly piles of wrappers, bottles, bags, and other garbage. The problem is even more acute in our cities.

Photo: Jitendra Raj Bajracharya/ICIMOD.

Some of the garbage from our mountain areas make it into our river systems and eventually to the oceans. The bits that stay behind in the mountains also cause severe problems – ranging from local soil and water pollution to dangerously high levels of air pollution resulting from emissions caused by burning plastics. Unfortunately, the practice of setting piles of garbage on fire is very common in the region and often done in the mornings and evenings when smoke spreads horizontally, into homes and lungs. Burning plastic releases large quantities of toxins as well as black carbon, as we recently discovered in a study coordinated by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Black carbon warms the atmosphere and contributes to the melting of Himalayan glaciers and snowfields.

The problem and its solutions can be found at several levels. First, garbage is poorly managed in many of our communities. Compostable and non-compostable materials are not separated. Collection is unreliable and insufficient, so that much of the garbage ends up piled on street sides where they burned. That garbage that is collected often ends up in poorly managed landfills that leach out dirty water and emit large amounts of methane into the air, which also contributes to climate warming. ICIMOD’s Transboundary Landscape Programme has been working with communities around Mt Kailash to set up locally managed garbage management and sanitation solutions.

Some of the garbage from our mountain areas make it into our river systems and eventually to the oceans. The bits that stay behind in the mountains also cause severe problems – ranging from local soil and water pollution to dangerously high levels of air pollution resulting from emissions caused by burning plastics. Unfortunately, the practice of setting piles of garbage on fire is very common in the region and often done in the mornings and evenings when smoke spreads horizontally, into homes and lungs. Burning plastic releases large quantities of toxins as well as black carbon, as we recently discovered in a study coordinated by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Black carbon warms the atmosphere and contributes to the melting of Himalayan glaciers and snowfields.

The problem and its solutions can be found at several levels. First, garbage is poorly managed in many of our communities. Compostable and non-compostable materials are not separated. Collection is unreliable and insufficient, so that much of the garbage ends up piled on street sides where they burned. That garbage that is collected often ends up in poorly managed landfills that leach out dirty water and emit large amounts of methane into the air, which also contributes to climate warming. ICIMOD’s Transboundary Landscape Programme has been working with communities around Mt Kailash to set up locally managed garbage management and sanitation solutions.

Second, there is a strong need for increased awareness and behavioural change. The theme for World Environment Day this year discourages single-use plastic items. There are easy alternatives to using disposable cups, plates, cutlery, and straws, and plastic shopping bags. It usually takes very little effort for someone to use a more sustainable alternative. What is needed is awareness and a willingness to change habits.

Third, businesses can steer people towards more sustainable behaviour through their products and pricing. Often, the amount of packaging on any product can easily be decreased without compromising the product itself. Hotels can provide bulk shampoo instead of small single-use bottles. Increasing numbers of shops do not give out plastic bags for free anymore.

Fourth, local and national governments have a lot of power to change individuals’ behaviours to decrease the production of plastic waste. Increasing numbers of places are banning single-use plastic and plastic bags outright while in other places, governments have mandated that consumers pay extra for them.

As an intergovernmental organization working on issues of environment and sustainability from the high Himalaya all the way down to the oceans, ICIMOD needs to set an example. As we mark World Environment Day, ICIMOD bans all single-use plastic and all open fires from the ICIMOD campus as well as from all ICIMOD-organized events. We encourage all ICIMOD staff to pledge to do the same in their homes.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related content

Continue exploring this topic

International Women’s Day 2014

The impacts of multiple drivers of change such as climate change, globalization, land use change, economic liberalization, migration, etc. have ...

The pandemic’s long shadow

As this news digest reaches you in this first month of 2022 and we while we continue to hope for ...

30 Mar 2020 Climate change
Celebrating World Water Day 2020: Water and climate change

Rivers have been the life force of civilizations from time immemorial. The Indus Valley, Ganges, and Mesopotamia civilizations all emerged ...

The Hindu Kush Himalaya could lead the way towards nature-based solutions

Nature is beautifully complex. Natural systems intertwine and depend on one another, with millions of species living and thriving together ...

Message from the Director General for International Women’s Day 2015

In the mountains of the Hindu Kush Himalayas, women, have a unique relationship with their environment. As household managers, they ...

International Mountain Day 2021

This year, we celebrate the 18th International Mountain Day, with the theme ‘sustainable mountain tourism’. In the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), ...

DG’s speech

Welcome all of you to ICIMOD. Thank you all for joining us, and spending your time and energy focusing on ...

Saying farewell

As I prepare for my departure from my position of Director General, I would like to take this opportunity to ...