We celebrate 5th June as World Environment Day every year. The prime motive behind celebrating this day is to create more awareness among people about the environmental hazards. This day is also celebrated to educate people about effective measures to take care of the environment. This year India is the host nation and the theme is “Beat Plastic Pollution”. This theme has been taken up because of the production and use of the plastic world over has been more than that of the whole last century. This is an alarming situation and many countries have come forward to curb the monstrous effect of plastic by banning plastic like China, Bangladesh, Rwanda, Kenya, and South Africa, etc.
Why such measures are important to be implemented?
That’s because the plastic releases harmful chemicals into the surrounding soil, which can then seep into groundwater or other surrounding water sources and also the ecosystem. This can cause serious harm to the species that drink the water. Apart from that after the packaged drinking water or food is consumed, the plastic container or vessel are thrown away and they form litters which are dumped into the water bodies. Studies reveal that 70% of litter on beaches comprises plastic, with items such as straws, cups, and stirrers making up 20%. The marine environment is highly disturbed due to this atrocity!
In Dubai, on an average, a resident uses 450 plastic water bottles annually. This makes Dubai one of the largest consumers of plastic bottled drinking water. The whole of the UAE uses a staggering 13 billion plastic bags per year. The Municipal Departments are at work to create more awareness among people. For example, Dubai has started awareness campaigns to establish a waste-sorting culture and enhance positive environmental behavior. For one such campaign with the Lulu Hypermarket, the Dubai Municipality collected 1 million plastic bottles in just 5 days that weighed 2000 kg. Dubai has also taken initiative like rewarding the people who return the recyclable plastics. Abdul Majeed Sifaie, the Director of Waste Management Department of Dubai Municipality further said that each Emirate would do their bit to reduce this waste and contribute to a better earth!
Here are some remedies on how you can say a big NO to plastic consumption in your daily life and contribute your part for a cleaner, greener, and a better tomorrow.
BYOB:
Not it’s not Buy Your Own Booze, it is Bring Your Own Bag. While you are heading for shopping, you must not forget to carry the jute bags or cotton bags or any other eco-friendly bags. The shopkeepers have to keep plastic bags so that they can provide you all the purchased items inside it in an organized manner. But if you don’t accept his plastic bag and use your own bag to bring the products home – it would be an eye-opener for the shopkeeper as well as other customers. In fact, the shopkeepers should display ads like “bring your own bag and save the environment”.
Plastic-Free Party or Get-Together:
To avoid the pain of washing dishes after the party or get-together, the host thinks to get some plastic disposable plates and glasses. This habit needs to be checked in order to reduce the usage of plastic. You need to replace these plastic disposables with steel utensils. In order to save your energy from cleaning the steel or glass utensils, you can use banana leaves or spoons and plates made from bamboo.
Don’t Consume Bottled Water:
One cannot stay deprived of water for long because that is one of the primary necessities of our body. The consumption of packaged drinking water has been pretty high as cited at the beginning of this blog. Always carry your own mug or sippers which you can fill and quench your thirst. You can also use steel bottles to work.
Glass or Metal Tiffin Boxes and Kitchen Containers:
The plastic material has crept too much into our lives. See all around your house and you would understand how much we depend on plastic! The kitchen containers, fridge bottles, and the lunch boxes – all are made up of plastic. You can bring a change today by discarding these plastic containers and replacing them with glass and metal ones. Keeping hot food inside plastic containers has been proved to be carcinogenic. So, pack the lunch for your family members in glass and metal containers for safety!
Carry a Reusable Coffee Cup:
As told earlier, plastic coffee or beverage cups are found on the beaches and they are corrupting the environment big time! Apart from the beaches, coffee cups are also found as litter in many other areas too. So, the best way to discard that is to carry your own mug everywhere you go. Get a reusable coffee cup and fill it up with your favorite beverage and save the environment. Some cafes also offer a discount to such responsible customers!
Don’t Use Straw:
Say NO straightaway to straw while you are enjoying your drink in some restaurant. These straws are single-use items and are again dumped into the water bodies which is hazardous. So, make your kids learn how to drink without spilling and without any straw.
Buy Non Plastic Sanitary Pads:
Do you know that every year at least 45 million feminine hygiene products are disposed and most of them are made from plastic? 90% of the sanitary pads that are available in the market are plastic. So, next time while you go for shopping, find the bio-degradable and renewable sanitary pads.
The environment has always given us the necessary things in abundance. We should, therefore, rectify our lifestyle to show our gratitude towards the environment. So, let’s pledge to discard plastic from our life by adopting these effective measures today.
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