

Photo: Towards the Human City
According to data published by the United Nations, only 9% of all plastic waste produced throughout history has been recycled.
Today, it is estimated that one million plastic bottles are bought every minute and around 5 trillion disposable plastic bags are used globally every year, which is compounded by the tens or even hundreds of years required for plastic to decompose.
This problem affects not only environmental pollution, but also biodiversity, the economy and people’s health. Around 13 million tonnes of plastic are thrown into the oceans every year, and according to experts, if this trend continues, by 2050 the amount of plastic waste will have increased to around 12 billion tonnes.
On 3 July, with the aim of reducing single-use plastic bags and promoting their responsible consumption, the International Plastic Bag Free Day is celebrated. In this context, we share the “Eco Bali” initiative, documented by CAD Productions in the framework of the Towards the Human City project.
This initiative emerged in the city of Bali to promote sustainable solutions in waste management and to achieve the goal of “zero waste”. To this end, an awareness-raising process on good environmental practices has been developed among individuals, communities and businesses through training and coaching sessions. Eco Bali also offers a customised collection, recycling and installation of composting systems for households and businesses.
This is one of many inspiring initiatives implemented in cities around the world to create more inclusive and sustainable cities.