World Environmental Health Day - Why It Matters More Than Ever

September 23, 2020

World Environmental Health Day began as a celebration by the International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH) in 2011, a mere nine years ago. 

The world has recently been challenged like never before, in ways that make it more difficult to participate in ethical ways of living that benefit our planet, and each other, when we are all staying at home and using services that often make living at home easier, but don’t necessarily lend to an eco-friendly lifestyle.

It’s important to recognise that when there is so much actively challenging our globe, we can each do our part to reduce the pressure facing our planet by breaking goals down to be thoughtful towards new ways of living, and simultaneously work towards being environmentally friendly. 

The zero-waste movement is key to this, and empowers individuals around the world to decrease or remove waste output in each of our lives. 

This year, World Environmental Health Day matters more than ever, because we all play a role in how our environment survives and thrives. 

There’s some quick steps you can take to take to do your part in this movement:

1. Reuse and recycle.

We all love to indulge in online shopping, however there’s so much packaging that is used in this process; always take care to recycle packaging appropriately. It’s important to see if you can reuse any materials, such as reusing tissue paper for present wrapping, keeping boxes for home storage, or reusing plastic bags to do grocery shopping.

If you can’t reuse packaging items, some tips to recycle are:

• When it comes to cardboard, make sure you remove any tape of plastic before you put it in the kerbside recycling as cardboard can be recycled.
• If you get packaging peanuts and they’re labelled as water-soluble starch, you can put them in a home compost or dissolve them in water and drain them out as they’re environmentally friendly.
• Soft plastics such as bubble wrap or mail satchels can be taken to a local grocery store with a soft plastics recycling bin and are able to be recycled appropriately.

 

2. Check eco-friendly options when ordering from online

If you’re supporting restaurants and cafes, take care to refuse small condiment packages and cutlery to reduce the amount of plastics you’re using. Otherwise, it’s a good idea to always check if they have recyclable materials for cutlery, such as wooden or bamboo utensils. Bamboo or wooden utensils can not only be reused, but also composted in the garden.

When shopping online, look towards brands that are ethical and sustainable. This will ensure your online purchases are conscious and responsible ones. Bar None are pioneers on the war on waste, as well as being cruelty free and vegan.

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