NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS
Spokesperson for General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi
United Nations Headquarters, New York
Thursday, 30 March 2023
ZERO WASTE
Underway is the High-level meeting of the General Assembly on the role of zero waste as a transformative solution in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The meeting coincides with the International Day of Zero Waste, which is marked today for the first time, having been created through a GA resolution adopted in December 2022.
In his remarks to the event, President Csaba Kőrösi commended Türkiye and First Lady Emine Erdoğan for championing this issue as part of a global push to tackle climate change.
He noted that the world generates more than 2 billion tonnes of waste annually.
That means – each day, each one of us generates about 0.74 kilograms or about 1.5 lbs of garbage, if my math is correct. Which is roughly this empty 5-gallon water bottle.
This trash doesn’t disappear, it goes somewhere, the President noted in his remarks – polluting our oceans, our air, and contributing to massive garbage dumps.
So what do we do about it?
The President notes that we have to embrace the circular economy of reduce, reuse, and recycle, and transform the way we produce and consume goods and services.
Quote “Achieving zero waste is not just an environmental issue; it is a social and economic issue.”
The remarks were delivered by Ambassador Aksoltan Ataeva, Permanent Representatives of Turkmenistan and Vice-President of the General Assembly, who is overseeing the morning session of this all-day event.
You have the President’s full remarks online and in your inboxes.
LINKED IN
And if you’re interested in reading more from President Kőrösi, you can do so on his LinkedIn account https://www.linkedin.com/in/president-united-nations-general-assembly-91a31b26b/
QUESTIONS
There were no questions for the Spokesperson.
