Earth Day And The Use Of Plastics

By Aaron White, Assistant Director of Corporate Services & Sustainability – Oakland Care

What is Earth Day?

Earth Day is a globally recognised annual event that aims to raise awareness and appreciation for the environment and our planet. It is celebrated every year on April 22nd, and in 2024, it will mark the 54th anniversary of the first Earth Day in 1970.

Earth Day has become a global movement providing an important platform for raising awareness about climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and other environmental issues. The event provides an opportunity for individuals, organisations, and governments to take action and make a difference in their communities and beyond. This can involve everything from participating in clean-up campaigns and planting trees to advocating for policy changes and reducing one's carbon footprint.

Plastic use: 2024 and beyond.

It's hard to imagine a life without plastics of some sort - they are so versatile and useful that we all use them every day without even giving it a thought!

However, today plastic use is 20 times greater than it was 50 years ago.

The average household throws out around 66 items of ‘disposable’ plastic waste every week; unfortunately, not much is truly recycled. In fact, up to 75% still ends up in landfill - less than a ? of plastic is actually made into something else.

Most of us are aware of the worrying quantities of plastics that end up in the Earth’s oceans. This plastic continually breaks into smaller and smaller pieces but never disappears entirely. These ‘Microplastics’ can accumulate inside animals with devastating effects.

We all need to consider how we can ensure that our plastic footprint is as small as possible in 2024 and beyond.

How can we all help?

It comes down to thinking hard using the principle of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Considering alternatives, and being more efficient and resourceful is all it takes to make a big difference. It should even save you money, too!

Reduce: Do I need them in the first place? What alternatives are there?

A few ideas include buying loose fruit and vegetables, using loose-leaf tea instead of teabags, refilling plastic water bottles, and getting a reusable coffee cup.

We’ve all mastered taking shopping bags out with us now that single-use ones are unavailable, so why not do the same for a drink bottle and coffee cup?

At Oakland Care, we use mains-fed water coolers instead of providing single-use bottles.

You can swap clingfilm for other food wraps and even ensure your bin bags are full before changing them.

Phase out using plastic balloons, glitter, and other plastic decorations for your celebration days. Instead, use longer-lasting alternatives.

Reuse:? ‘Single-use’ doesn’t have to mean ‘single-use’!

Reuse old fruit and vegetable containers for growing your own or plastic water bottles as bird feeders or watering devices for pot plants.

In reality, no one needs hundreds of these, so the main effort needs to be ‘Reducing’ in the first place.

At Oakland Care, we also regularly use disposable plastic items for arts and crafts projects.

Recycle: While recycling is, of course, essential, don’t forget that it still costs energy and other resources. Again, reducing plastic waste (even recycled waste) is still the best option.

When you do place plastic into the recycle bin at home or work, don’t contaminate the recycling waste—check if the plastic can be recycled and ensure it’s rinsed out if it contains food. If you contaminate the recycling, there’s a chance that the whole batch will be discarded at the recycling plant.

Crush your plastics so they take up less space - this means fewer (plastic) waste bags over the year.

I recently visited a recycling plant and was surprised at how little of the intended ‘recycling waste’ actually made it to the end of the process – so much fails to make the grade required, often due to contamination from other items.

Plastic is incredibly useful - we just need to learn how to value it and use it appropriately!

Oakland Care are proudly ‘The Greener Care Choice’ – certified at Greenmark Level 3, Carbon Neutral since 2020, and a winner at the international ‘Green World Awards’ two years running.

Read?about our commitment to sustainability https://lnkd.in/ex6bKnQy

?