- By Michelle Holman
- •
- 30 May, 2018
World Environment Day June 5th 2018
World Environment Day began in 1974, and has since become a widely celebrated day for awareness and action in the protection of our environment. Each year, there is a theme that focuses attention on a specific environmental concern. This year on Tuesday June 5th, with studies such as ‘Human footprint in the abyss: 30 year records of deep-sea plastic debris’ finding that single-use plastic has reached the world’s deepest ocean trench, the theme is beating plastic pollution.
Beating Plastic Pollution
In order to beat plastic pollution, every sector needs to play its part. Case studies in the news recently have included swapping plastic straws for paper straws in bars and restaurants, a charge for take-away plastic coffee cups and swapping plastic packaging and carrier bags for paper or reusable alternatives. With this concept of reuse or recycle, the number of single-use plastic items can be reduced in order to decrease the detrimental affects of plastic on the environment.
This does not stop with plastic bags however; the flooring industry uses plastic packaging in a similar way to most industries. Luckily some companies have made drastic changes to ensure that they are being much more environmentally friendly.
Within the flooring industry, it is great to be able to give clients the choice of using recycled materials in products, to increase sustainability. Sustainability is a very hot topic in the construction industry currently, with suppliers, architects, builders and owners regularly touting green credentials.
All of the house builders we work closely with, believe that businesses are responsible for achieving good environmental practice and operating in a sustainable manner. They recognise that their activities have an impact on the environment in terms of the use of raw materials, emissions to air and water and waste generation, and they seek to minimise this as far as is reasonably practicable.
It’s not just businesses that can help – WE ALL CAN
If you can’t reuse it, refuse it
This year’s World Environment Day provides an opportunity for each of us to embrace the many ways that we can help to combat plastic pollution around the world. And you don’t have to wait until 5 June to act.
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 packagin
- Refuse plastic cutlery
- Pick up any plastic you see the next time you go for a walk on the beach
What else can we do to tackle this problem? Share your ideas on social media using the hashtag #BeatPlasticPollution.
