Happy Earth Day everyone! Every year on the 22nd of April, we celebrate Earth Day and the planet we live on.
For us at Circulayo, every day is Earth Day as we support businesses in making sustainable choices, but Earth Day serves as a day for us all to make an extra special effort to do that little bit more.
What is Earth Day?
In 1970, Earth Day was first celebrated and is now the world’s largest recruiter for the environmental movement. They began with the mission to “Diversify, educate, and activate the environmental movement worldwide” to engage the public and push environmental issues to the national agenda.
Earth Day works with over 150,000 partners worldwide and has seen several environmental legislations implemented, supported agricultural practices, planted hundreds of millions of trees, and provided educational resources.
Each year, Earth focuses on a different theme and topic to spread awareness, resources, and campaigns for environmental protection. This year’s Earth Day theme is Planet Vs. Plastics.
However, they have previously spread awareness and campaigned for other environmental issues, such as species protection, pollution, global warming, clean energy, and sustainable fashion.
Planet Vs. Plastics
There are 8 billion of us on Earth and approximately 12 million tonnes of plastic enters our oceans annually. That equals 32,876 tonnes of plastic entering our oceans daily!
That is equivalent to nearly 800 million 2-litre plastic bottles disposed into our oceans daily. And that’s just entering our oceans, not including all the plastic waste going to landfill or being incinerated.
That is why it is vital that we show our appreciation to Earth and also raise awareness and bring change to reduce plastic pollution from around the world.
This year, Earth Day is showing its commitment to end all plastics for both our and the planet’s health, demanding to reduce plastic production by 60% by 2040.
Plastic pollution is a major environmental issue occurring around the world, having a significant impact on Earth’s ecosystems and ourselves.
Impact of Single-Use Plastic
Plastic is produced, transported, and used for a brief time before being discarded after a single use. Unfortunately, not all plastics can be recycled, and some are contaminated, making them unsuitable for recycling.
Consequently, many of these plastics end up in our environment, posing a significant threat to human health and increasing climate change.
When plastic is exposed to the elements, it breaks down, turning into microplastics that contaminate our food, water sources, and wildlife, spreading hazardous chemicals and metals that can cause cancer and disease.
Microplastics are undetectable to the naked eye, but by using technology and science, we can identify microplastics in various environments.
Plastic is a major contributor to environmental issues as it emits a large amount of greenhouse gases during each stage of production, transportation, and disposal.
Greenhouse gases contribute to global warming, resulting in natural disasters such as wildfires, tsunamis, hurricanes, and other extreme weather events that can destroy habitats and lives around the world.
Not only that, but plastic production is also a major contributor to environmental degradation. From extraction to disposal, plastic production emits greenhouse gases and pollutes our land, water, and air.
The plastic waste that ends up in oceans and landfills further intensifies the problem, releasing harmful chemicals and microplastics into the environment. To reduce the impact of single-use plastic, we need to reduce our single-use plastic production and consumption.
Start Reducing Your Plastic Consumption
Consumption reduction can seem overwhelming – especially if you don’t know where to start! The best way to reduce your plastic consumption is to start small. Any way to reduce your plastic consumption and waste still matters.
Here are a few ways to get started:
Swap to Reusable Alternatives
Since consumers are now looking for environmentally friendly options when shopping, there has been a boost of environmentally friendly options available to replace single-use plastic products.
From reusable packaging to reusable hygiene products, to even reusable cleaning products – you name it there is probably a sustainable alternative out there!
Looking to be even more sustainable? Support local and small businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support your local community.
Avoid Unnecessary Packaging
A lot of products are packaged in a large amount of unnecessary packaging. Often this unnecessary packaging is single-use and is disposed of after one use.
If you know that you are going to be shopping, take your reusable bags with you. Use your reusable packaging and containers when buying produce from local farmer’s markets. This will reduce the plastic that they use when you purchase from them.
Shop in Bulk
It’s often cheaper to buy products in bulk AND reduces the amount of packaging waste generated from buying single-packs.
Although it may seem a lot more expensive to bulk buy your products, if you look at the cost over time, it will be less expensive over time. This also lowers the need to go shopping if you buy more of one product, therefore also reducing the chance of impulse purchases that you don’t need – saving you money and lowering waste!
Reuse & Recycle
Created more waste than expected? Reuse and recycle it into something that you can use again. Give your waste extra life, don’t just dispose of it after one use.
There are plenty of ways to reuse and recycle packaging and waste. Across the internet and social media, there are guides on how to reuse your packaging waste.
Have children? Get them involved with some DIYs. Keep them occupied and build their creativity! Spread the mission of reusing packaging with your family, make it into a group activity and encourage them to start reducing waste – if they haven’t already!
Store Leftovers in Reusables
Food waste is a large issue. Did you know that 8 meals could be saved each week if we stopped binning our food at home? Now that’s just over a week's worth of evening meals you could be enjoying. So when you have leftovers, don’t bin them, store them in reusable packaging.
Not only will you be eliminating the waste you create with food, but you will also be eliminating the need to use single-use plastic to store your leftovers.
Swap to Eco-Friendly Gift Options
When gifting sustainably, it may seem difficult but the main point to remember is to ensure that they have minimal or no plastic packaging, are reusable, and bonus points if they support a sustainable cause.
Understanding your recipient is important – this minimises the chance of them disposing of any unwanted gifts. Popular gifts include experiences, subscriptions, or homemade/hand-crafted gifts to show you care!
Already done the above? Brilliant! Why not try some of the following and further your sustainable impact?
What else can you do?
If you’ve done all the above and are happy with your progress, why not further your environmental impact by participating in clean-up efforts, becoming an advocate for sustainable change, or encouraging those around you to join you in being sustainable.