World Environment Day will be celebrated on June 5, just like every year. But is a day of celebration wit an intension to spread awareness about the major environmental issues enough, given the grim situation? No. It is the small steps we take every day that makes up for the impact on the ecosystem that we create for ourselves and the future generation. To encourage people to take action and to protect the environment isn't enough, we need to act right away! Did you know that, daily activities as minor as washing your face and flushing the toilet has a major collective effect on the environment?
The current theme of the World Environment day is Air Pollution. But are you directly or indirectly contributing to it or any other kind of pollution for that matter? Let's take a look at some of the common mistakes you are making every day in your life that are damaging the environment:
Disposing Batteries
Batteries come in handy almost every day but did you know it very important to dispose them off correctly to protect mother Earth? You must opt for the specific recycling bins to disposing batteries. Batteries are loaded with metals that could cause irreversible damage to groundwater through landfills.
Facewash
You must have use facewash with microbeads that have been known to exfoliate and scrub your skin really well. But do you know those microbeads, as tiny as to go unnoticed can impact earth excessively? They are too tiny to not be caught by sewage filtration and water treatment systems and can be consumed by marine animals. The results can be damaging.
Products From Supermarkets
Have you noticed that supermarkets sell even bananas coated in plastic and for an excess price? Although they are convenient and may fit in your budget it just adds to the global burden of plastic pollutants. Plastic cannot be absorbed by the environment.
Unnecessary Lights
We only need enough light to see in the dark. Switch off unnecessary lights and misuse of electricity to reduce the number of toxic fumes emitted by power plants.
Toilet Flush
Do you really need that much water to flush off pee? Of course, you don't want your toilet harbouring the nasty smell but you can choose to use flush that includes options of half-flush that uses less water to drain off urine. Gallons of water is wasted via unnecessary flushing.
Coffee
Did you know the coffee trade isn't considered a sustainable business? Coffee trade cause deforestation and the process of turning coffee cherries into the coffee you have in your kitchen causes a lot of waste. Plus coffee pods also amount to a huge waste that is difficult to manage.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 03, 2020 01:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).