03/06/2025
🌍 EcoStewards for Health Initiative at World Environment Day 2025! 🌿
Theme: Ending Plastic Pollution – Local Actions, Global Impact
Today, EcoStewards for Health Initiative proudly took part in the World Environment Day 2025 awareness event hosted by Social Green Network (SGN). This impactful event brought together environmental stakeholders to raise localized awareness, inspire action and advocacy, facilitate policy dialogue, showcase green innovations, and strengthen multi-sector partnerships.
The event kicked off with opening remarks from Mr. Ronald, Director of SGN, who highlighted the network’s role in bridging the gap between changemakers and resources. He emphasized the importance of coming together to create sustainable solutions to plastic pollution.
One of the key speakers was Mr. Mark Maseko, National Information Officer at the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lusaka. He delivered an insightful presentation on “Ridding the Planet of Plastic Pollution” and how this contributes to achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including:
✅ SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being
✅ SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation
✅ SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities
✅ SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production
✅ SDG 13 – Climate Action
✅ SDG 14 – Life Below Water
✅ SDG 15 – Life on Land
✅ SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
✅ SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals
He stressed the need for global cooperation across governments, businesses, and communities to effectively tackle plastic pollution.
💬 The event also featured an interactive chat session where participants responded to key questions:
“What can motivate people to reduce plastic use?”
✔ Seeing the real impact of plastic waste
✔ Education on its health and environmental effects
✔ Providing incentives to encourage change
Barriers identified included:
🚫 Lack of awareness
🚫 Limited recycling resources
🚫 Negative public attitudes
🚫 Weak enforcement of existing laws
🎤 The event continued with valuable presentations, including:
🔹 Dr. Mike Bull (University of Manchester) – Spoke on measuring and reporting social and environmental impact using the Balance Model.
🔹 Ms. Chisa (Lusaka Integrated Solid Waste Management Company – LISWMC) – Shared that Lusaka generates 1,200 tons of waste daily, with only 30% collected, 70% uncollected, and 55% of waste ending up in landfills. She also highlighted LISWMC's work with recyclers and advocacy for better waste management.
🔹 Dr. Sam Sichilalu – Presented an innovative project converting plastic waste into petroleum as a sustainable solution.
🔚 The event concluded with remarks from Mr. Amphree, representing the Lusaka Chamber of Commerce, who urged everyone to start fighting plastic pollution at home. He thanked all speakers and participants and called on government authorities to discourage the distribution of plastic bags in shopping malls.
♻️ As EcoStewards, we reaffirm our commitment to advocating for sustainable packaging, promoting proper waste management, and encouraging producers and retailers to switch to eco-friendly alternatives like paper bags or recyclable materials.
🛑 Let's stigmatize unnecessary plastic use.
💚 Let's make plastic-free living a community culture.
Stay tuned for another exciting story coming up from SignPro Signage & Branding on how they’re contributing to reducing plastic waste and promoting environmental responsibility.
