World Environmental Day

Since it began in 1974, the event has grown and is widely celebrated. Described as the “people’s day” it is a day for an individual or a group to do something to take care of the earth.

Every year there is a dedicated theme to draw particular attention to a pressing environmental concern. This year’s is “air pollution”, last years theme was “beat plastic pollution”, hosted by India.

Every World Environmental day has a different host country where the official celebrations take place. The focus on the host country helps highlight the environmental challenges it faces and supports worldwide efforts to address them.

Approximately 7 million people worldwide die prematurely each year from air pollution, of which about 4 million of these deaths occur in Asia-Pacific. This year’s World Environmental Day will urge governments, industry, communities and individuals to come together to explore renewable energy and green technologies and improve air quality around the world.

Air pollution facts:

• 92% of people worldwide do not breath clean air
• Air pollution costs the global economy $5 trillion every year in welfare costs
• Ground-level ozone pollution is expected to reduce staple crop fields by 26% by 2030

According to the UN Environment, waste is one of the five main types of air pollution. Open waste burning and organic waste in landfills release harmful dioxins, furans, methane and black carbon into the atmosphere. It’s estimated that 40% of waste is openly burned, the problem is most severe in urbanising regions and developing countries. Open burning of agricultural and municipal waste is practised in 166 of 193 countries.

Improving the collection, separation and disposal of solid waste reduces the amount of waste that is burned or sent to landfill.
Here at Simply Waste solutions, we never send any waste to landfill and always promote the separation of materials for recycling.

If your business wants to improve its waste and recycling systems, get in contact with one of our waste experts today by;