My Environment day resolutions

Every year “World Environment day” comes (on June 5) and goes. We talk about saving environment for that day and then forget about it for next 364 days and indulge in same activities. This time, I wanted to really change something small in my daily routine. I found some points which I can implement within my scope. Here they are :

I noticed that in our office, we use paper cups to drink water, tea, coffee etc. On an average, each one of us uses at least 5 paper cups per day. That is more than 15,000 cups per day for my company and limitless if you include all such companies all over the world. And what I found about paper cups on net is not at all healthy:

“Styrofoam cups are made from the material polystyrene. Paper cups, on the other hand, are also usually not made from all-natural materials. Many paper cups are coated in polyethylene (a type of plastic resin) to increase their durability and water resistance. According to a study conducted by Starbucks and the Alliance for Environmental Innovation, published April 2000, each paper cup manufactured is responsible for 0.11 kilograms of CO2 emissions. Considering the vast number of cups produced each year, this is a startling figure. Styrofoam cups have their own dangers as Styrofoam cannot be completely recycled.

According to Rodale, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has labeled polystyrene a “probable carcinogen.” According to a study published in Food and Chemical Toxicology Journal, when Styrofoam is heated, the chemicals can leach out of the Styrofoam and into the hot food. Since most paper cups are coated in a petroleum resin, this chemical can also leach into hot beverages.”

Alternative : Use plastic bottles which you already have at home (Don’t buy new one ). Use it to drink water. For tea/coffee, mug is the best option. The only effort you have to put is cleaning it after using.  One has to start doing it to realize it does not require much effort.

I have seen organizations putting strict restrictions for using paper cups. In Samsung Korea, there are no paper cups in office. If you want to drink tea/coffee, you have to bring your own mug from home. Initially, people were uneasy about it. Only initially. After few days, we could see different varieties of mugs at each person’s desk. Now, it is considered very bad to use paper cups there. One culture has developed.

I had recently sent a request to HR in my office to remove paper cups completely. I have got very positive response and now they are in process of implementing it. Why don’t you suggest same to your organization if the same practice isn’t already followed?

Where have all the cloth bags gone? I remember in my childhood, we used cloth bags right from going to tuition classes to any sort of shopping. There was no concept like polythene bags in those days. Nowadays, we just go for shopping and take home lots of polythene bags. Everyone knows dangers of using polythene bags. Remember, it is already banned in most part of world. Still we use it as if we don’t care anything about it.

Again I can’t help but remember the practice in Korea. There, we need to buy polythene bags if haven’t got our own bags. And again, it is considered bad there. Nowadays, I have seen many big stores also charging for polythene bags in India. However, that alone is not enough as it is still very cheap to cause in discomfort in our money filled packet. The best option is to understand the hazards that polythene bags cause and use cloth bags by choice, not because you have to pay for it now. I must congratulate certain local shopkeepers who steadfastly refuse to sell if a customer keeps on asking for polythene bags.  I have seen such shopkeepers in my locality. If they can do it with the danger of losing business, why can’t we?

This year, let’s do something about our environment and make it part of our culture. Let us change for better tomorrow.

 

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