5 June, World Environment Day
In 2025 this day focuses on the issue of plastic pollution. Reducing the use and impact of plastics on ecosystems is the responsibility of everyone, public administrations, companies and citizenship.
In 2023 (latest available data), 75.0% of young people aged 15-29 in the Basque Country said that they usually took their own bag with them when they went shopping. In addition, 29.9% said that they usually tried to buy products that were not very packaged. Both measures help to limit plastic consumption.
The percentage of young people who take their own bag or trolley with them when shopping has increased, measure by measure, from 2012 to 2023. However, while the percentage of young people who seek to buy minimally packaged or unpackaged products has increased from 2012 to 2023, the increase has not been steady and there has been a decline from 2021 to 2023.
Women engage in these behaviours that lead to less plastic consumption to a greater extent than men. As age group increases, these behaviours also become more common.
On the other hand, in 2024, 88.0% of young people strongly or somewhat agreed with the need for more drastic measures to curb climate change. Young women had a higher level of agreement than young men (92.9% and 83.3% respectively).
Reducing the consumption of plastics is linked to several objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals: “Responsible consumption and production” (12th), “Climate action” (13th), “Life below water” (14th) and “Life on land” (15th).
Specifically, within goal number 12, target 12.5 states that by 2030, waste generation should be "significantly reduced through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse".
These data come from surveys conducted by the Basque Youth Observatory among 15–29-year-olds who are member of the GaztePanel of the Basque Youth Observatory. Currently, more than 10,000 young people in the Basque Country aged between 15 and 34 are members of the GaztePanel and collaborate with the Basque Youth Observatory by giving their opinion through the surveys that the Observatory carries out periodically.
The opinion of young people helps to understand the reality of youth and to implement public policies that favour their situation.
