Got your reusable water bottle? That’s one of the easiest things you can do to reduce your environmental footprint when you are traveling.
Around 85 percent of plastic water bottles, which can take up to 1,000 years to degrade, end up as waste, according to a new report from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. Plastic bottles also end up in the ocean, adding to a vast swirl of plastic waste that poses a serious threat to marine life.
“Plastics are contaminating our oceans, clogging our drains, causing floods, spreading disease, killing wildlife, and impacting low-income communities the most,” said Kathleen Rogers, EARTHDAY.ORG president, “Governments, businesses and citizens must all contribute to stop the destruction of our shared home and restore nature.”
The theme of Earth Day 2023 (April 22) is “Invest in Our Planet” and to that end, there is The End Plastic Pollution campaign and The Great Global Cleanup, which provides opportunities to remove trash from green spaces, urban areas and waterways. Check the live map for nearby cleanups or create your own event. You won’t be alone. More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.
