World Environment Day 2018: Come up with roses from pushed up daisies

World Environment Day (WED) occurs on the 5th of June every year and is the United Nation’s principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment.

Let’s discover the history of the most important day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment.

World Environment Day was established in 1972 during the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, which led to the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Its goal is “encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment”. Since its foundation, WED has developed into a global platform for raising awareness and taking action, and it is celebrated in over 100 countries.

Each year, WED has a new theme to advocate environmental causes.
India is the global host of 2018 World Environment Day with “Beat Plastic Pollution” as the theme for this year’s edition.

Today we are taking initiative to try reducing plastic use in our Head office https://www.thelivemirror.com Also, we urge you to encourage your colleagues to use less plastic.

While a lot has been reported about the ill effects of the use of plastics, its usage is rampant all over the country despite ban being imposed in many cities though that remains only in theory.

While plastic recycling started in late 1970s-early 1980s in India; the amount of plastic consumption far exceeds than the amount being currently recycled in India.

As per details from Census 2011, Delhi has population of 1.68 Crores, an increase from figure of 1.39 Crores in 2001 census which means more consumption and thus more plastic waste generation.

Another major problem is the use of plastic spoons, glasses, and plates for small social gatherings where huge amount of plastic waste is generated in a day. Several start-ups have also come up with the idea of organic cutlery. The glass, spoon, plates and even containers are made of bagasse, areca leaves, palm leaves which are biodegradable.

It’s time to sit up, take notice and stop doing small small things creating destruction in the environment.

Here are 9 simple steps for living with less plastic:

Tip 1: Bring your own cloth bag for shopping
Tip 2: Carry a reusable water bottle
Tip 3: Bring your own cup
Tip 4: Pack your lunch in reusable containers
Tip 5: Say no to disposable straws and cutlery
Tip 6: Skip the plastic produce bags
Tip 7: Slow down and dine in
Tip 8: Store left overs in glass jars
Tip 9: Share these tips with your friends

Declared on March 23, the plastic ban notification is to come into full effect on June 23, giving vendors, consumers and the plastic industry, three months to find alternatives to single-use plastic. Today, as the state stands halfway through this three-month grace period, low awareness about the modalities of the ban, strong lobbying by the industry and a lack of realistic alternatives and timelines are some of the reasons that critics feel the ban in its current form could remain just on paper.

We should celebrate and promote eco-friendly development in our country on every possible platform in order to save the environment for better future.