The world generated an estimated 400 million tonnes of plastic waste last year.

This torrent of water and shampoo bottles, dispensing containers, polyester shirts, PVC piping and other plastic products is part and parcel of a plastic pollution crisis that experts say is ravaging ecosystems, exposing people to potentially harmful pollutants and stoking climate change.

“Plastic pollution is one of the gravest environmental threats facing the Earth but it’s a problem we can solve,” said Elisa Tonda, Chief of the Resources and Markets Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “Doing so could not only improve the well-being of people and planet but also unlock a host of economic opportunities.”

Countries worldwide are now negotiating an international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution. Against that backdrop, this year’s World Environment Day will focus on ways to prevent plastic waste from escaping into the environment, such as curbing pollution from single-use plastic products and redesigning plastic products so they last longer.

Ahead of World Environment Day, here’s a closer look at what plastic pollution is, why it’s such a problem and what can be done about it.

Read the full and original Story at United Nations Environment Programme