There’s no place like home.
And there’s no place like Earth!

On Earth Day, let’s all come together to celebrate, be inspired and get motivated to protect and conserve the environment like never before!

Earth Day reminds us to be extra mindful and to pay more attention to the environmental problems happening around us. The more we learn about the issues, the more empowered we become to contribute to a greener and more sustainable world.

 © Peter Kapuscinski / Greenpeace

Our Awesome Planet

In case you don’t know, Earth is the only planet in the universe known to host and sustain life. With its terrain of mountains, valleys and volcanoes— found both above and below the vast oceans—it’s the perfect home for humans, plants, animals, insects and even bacteria!

Sadly, Earth is also known to be a planet full of single-use plastic.

 © Paul Hilton / Greenpeace

A Plastic Menace

Also known as disposables, single-use plastics are materials that are only used once and then thrown away. Despite being used for a very short time, they remain in the environment for decades, even hundreds or thousands of years. 

Marketed for its convenience, plastics have become a nuisance— taking up space and polluting the planet. In fact, the world has produced an astounding 8.3 billion metric tons since the 1950s! Keep in mind that only about 9% of this plastic has ever been recycled, with the rest burned or dumped in landfills or left in the open environment.

Single-use plastics come in all shapes and sizes- some can’t even be seen by the naked eye. A new study now confirms how microplastics have now been found in human blood. So it’s not just in the environment, but in our bodies as well.

Also disconcerting is how single-use plastic poses major problems for the climate. As a by-product of fossil fuels, plastic production contributes to global warming, responsible for the Climate Emergency. All the more reasons to end the life cycle of single-use plastics immediately.

 © Greenpeace / Alexander Emelyanov
 © Greenpeace / Gavin Newman

What You Can Do Today

Feeling overwhelmed by it all? Don’t be. Though plastic is everywhere, we can still do something about it. ​​Remember, Earth was once plastic-free and we can make it happen again.

Together, we can create a new normal that leaves single-use products behind. And by doing so, we can confront not only the plastic menace, but also call for better mechanisms that promote and champion sustainability— not recycling, but upcycling; not single-use but a reuse and refill system to aid consumers. To succeed, we need both individual and collective action. And it starts with you!

Join our Earth Day #SayNo2Plastics Challenge

Earth Day 2022 is the perfect time to take more meaningful action for the planet. Greenpeace and Discovery Networks invite you to be part of the solution and to begin your journey towards a more sustainable, plastic-free future.

Take the challenge for a chance to win reusable merchandise from Discovery Networks. You may also download this
2022 Eco-Journal from Greenpeace Southeast Asia!

#SayNo2Plastics Challenge runs from April 22 to May 13!

Option 1:

Count Your Plastic Waste

Track your day's worth of plastic. Get a box or container to put all of the single-use plastics you will encounter or throw away for one day.​

  • Take a photo or video that shows your box or container.Upload it on Instagram using the hashtags #SayNo2Plastics and #BreakFreeFromPlastic.
  • Don’t forget to tag @GreenpeaceSEA and @Discovery_SEAsia 
  • Mention and tag 3 of your friends to take the challenge.

Option 2:

Show Us Your Reusables

Flex and flaunt your reusable bags, tumblers, straws and cutlery! Inspire others to avoid single-use plastic.

  • Take a photo or video of how you use your reusable items.
  • Upload it on Instagram using the hashtags #SayNo2Plastics and #BreakFreeFromPlastic.
    Don’t forget to tag @GreenpeaceSEA and @Discovery_SEAsia 
  • Mention and tag 3 of your friends to take the challenge.

Option 3:

Sign and Share a Petition to #BreakFreeFromPlastic

We need to stop plastic pollution at the source by asking companies to reduce their use of single-use plastic and shift to more sustainable delivery systems like reuse and refill.
Sign and share this petition to ask brands and businesses to #BreakFreeFromPlastic!

  • Take a screenshot of petition page upon successfully signing up.
  • Upload the photo on your Instagram using the hashtag #SayNo2Plastics and #BreakFreeFromPlastic.
    Don’t forget to tag @GreenpeaceSEA and @Discovery_SEAsia
  • Mention and tag 3 of your friends to take the challenge.

Greenpeace and the #BreakFreeFromPlastic Movement

Greenpeace is a founding member of the #BreakFreeFromPlastic Movement- a global organization composed of NGOs, institutions and individual supporters from across the world demanding massive reductions in single-use plastics and to push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis.

Since 2017, Greenpeace Southeast Asia has been conducting plastic brand audits in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. A form of citizen science, these brand audits help record and expose the names of the companies responsible for trashing communities with their single-use plastic. Working with thousands of volunteers across six continents, brand audits have powered this collective effort to pressure corporations to end plastic pollution for good.

Thailand

กรีนพีซประเทศไทยกำลังทำงานเคลื่อนไหวระดับโลกเพื่อเรียกร้องให้แบรนด์ลดการผลิตพลาสติกใช้ครั้งเดียวทิ้ง.

Malaysia

Learn more about Greenpeace Malaysia’s work to stop plastic pollution and the illegal waste trade.

Indonesia

Kenali lebih jauh program dan kampanye Greenpeace Indonesia dalam mengatasi isu polusi plastik.

Philippines

Learn more about Greenpeace Philippines' work in fighting plastic pollution at the source.

Together, we are making change

Sign up today to get the 2022 Eco Journal to begin your Plastic-Free Journey and more updates for Greenpeace

© Gary Farr / Greenpeace