A non-governmental organisation, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), on Monday called for collective action to end the use of plastics, which is suffocating the earth with its harmful products.

A statement issued in Yenagoa by HOMEF spokesman Kome Odhomor to mark the 2024 World Earth Day said conscious efforts should be made to end the scourge of plastics and safeguard the health of every living being.

The statement quoted Dr Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of HOMEF, as advocating for a better planet and urging all inhabitants of the earth to be active ecological defenders in their communities.

“Now is a critical time to choose between planet and plastic. Good sense tells us to choose the planet, our Mother Earth that sustains all lives. Poor sense driven by profit urges humans to choose plastics because of the ease they bring, despite the harmful impacts on our health, climate, and overall health of the planet. 

“As we mark World Earth Day 2024, the alarm must be sounded that it is time to uproot plastics from their fossil base or be ready to be turned into plastic humans living plastic lives and heading to an infernal plastic future. 

“At HOMEF, we are all for the planet, people, and other people,” Mr Bassey said.

The organisation said World Earth Day was to remind people across the world of the need to protect and preserve the earth.

“The International Mother Earth Day’s theme this year ‘Planet Vs Plastic’ urges us to build a livable future for humans, other beings, and natural systems. We stand united in our fight against non-biodegradable waste pollution.

”Our addiction to single-use plastics suffocates the planet. Plastics are non-biodegradable waste; these materials do not decompose with time, can take up space, and cause harmful impacts as a result of their chemical composition.

“Our planet is choked with plastics and in most parts of it from mindless extraction of fossil fuel,” HOMEF stated. 

The group said research had indicated that 380 million tonnes of plastic are produced annually, while only nine percent of plastics have been recycled. 

HOMEF noted that campaigns around the world calling for a 60 per cent reduction in plastic by 2040 is commendable and worthy of support.

“At HOMEF, we believe in the intrinsic rights of Mother Earth and the rights of humans and other beings to be respected and live with dignity. It is time to build up courage and to preserve and protect our health, and our livelihoods by embracing alternatives that are sustainable, healthy, and safe for the planet and we must stop all forms of destructive extractive activities in Nigeria, Africa and the World. 

 “The Planet vs Plastics campaign is a call to arms, a demand that we act now to end the scourge of plastics and safeguard the health of every living being upon our planet,” it added. 

(NAN)