World Environment Day #BeatPlasticPollution
Today is World Environment Day!
In 1972 the UN General Assembly designated the 5th of June as World Environment Day. Since then it has become the UN’s most important day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. It has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated in over 100 countries.
The theme for 2018 is “Beat Plastic Pollution”
It’s a call to action for all of us to come together to combat one of the great environmental challenges of our time. Chosen by this year’s host, India, the theme of World Environment Day 2018 invites us all to consider how we can make changes in our everyday lives to reduce the heavy burden of plastic pollution on our natural places, our wildlife – and our own health.
There are so many things that we can do – from asking the restaurants you frequent to stop using plastic straws, to bringing your own coffee mug to work, to pressuring your local authorities to improve how they manage your city’s waste. Here are some other specific ideas:
- Bring your own shopping bags to the supermarket
- Pressure food suppliers to use non-plastic packaging
- Refuse plastic cutlery
- Pick up any plastic you see the next time you go for a walk on the beach
Check out our recent blog about recycling in Australia to learn about some of the issues we’re facing with plastic recycling at the moment.