World Environment Day 2025 – #BeatPlasticPollution
World Environment Day in 2025 will focus on ending plastic pollution. The Republic of Korea will host the global celebrations.
For decades, plastic pollution has seeped into every corner of the world, leaching into the water we drink, into the food we eat, and our bodies. While plastic pollution is a major concern, it is also one of the most fixable of today’s environmental challenges, with some obvious solutions at hand.
World Environment Day joins the UNEP-led #BeatPlasticPollution this year to mobilize communities worldwide to implement and advocate for solutions. World Environment Day will spotlight the growing scientific evidence on the impacts of plastic pollution and drive momentum to refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rethink plastics use. It will also reinforce the global commitment made in 2022 to end plastic pollution through a global plastic pollution treaty.
About the host country
This is the Republic of Korea's second time to host global observations for World Environment Day. It first hosted the Day in 1997 on the theme “For Life on Earth”.
Over the past 28 years, the country has made remarkable progress in improving water and air quality, managing chemicals safely, and protecting and restoring ecosystems. Today, building on decades of experience engaging businesses through extended producer responsibility, the Republic of Korea is among the countries leading efforts to tackle plastic waste. The country’s full life-cycle plastic strategy aims to address every stage in the life cycle of plastics, from production and design to consumption, reuse and recycling. The strategy brings together the government, businesses and consumers to reshape how plastics are used and disposed of. By curbing waste at its source, expanding recycling efforts, and accelerating the transition to a circular economy, the Republic of Korea is taking decisive action to reduce plastic pollution and build a more sustainable future.
Jeju Province in the Republic of Korea was chosen as the host location for World Environment Day. In 2022, the province declared a vision to become free of plastic pollution by 2040. Jeju is the only province in the country where household waste must be disposed of at designated recycling support centers. The system requires waste separation from the source, driving higher recycling rates and ensuring more waste is repurposed. Also, Jeju is the first province to introduce a disposable cup deposit system in the Republic of Korea.
About the 2025 theme
Plastic pollution exacerbates the deadly impacts of the triple planetary crisis: the crisis of climate change, the crisis of nature, land and biodiversity loss, and the crisis of pollution and waste. Globally, an estimated 11 million tonnes of plastic waste leak into aquatic ecosystems each year, while microplastics accumulate in the soil from sewage and landfills, due to the use of plastics in agricultural products. The annual social and environmental cost of plastic pollution ranges between US$300 billion and US$600 billion.
This year’s World Environment Day observance comes as countries make progress towards securing a global treaty to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. In November 2024, the Republic of Korea hosted the fifth session of negotiations to develop a plastic pollution treaty. The second part of the session will take place from 5 to 14 August in Geneva, Switzerland.