Barry White and Richard Boothman
Last December Green Eco-Friend published its environmental awareness calendar highlighting days, weeks and months (see: https://greenecofriend.co.uk/environmental-awareness-calendar/ ) Although we are just over halfway through 2021, there are still plenty of activities to join in during the second half of the year.
Next month is Plastic Free July and is exactly what it sounds like, a month and a movement to try and encourage people to use less or no plastic. It’s a really good way for people to get involved and think about what they’re buying and to hopefully make some permanent changes to reduce the amount of plastic in their day to day lives. Plastic Free July was started in 2011 when Rebecca Prince-Ruiz and a few people from the local Western Australian Government got together. Rebecca made a trip to her local recycling facility in June 2011 to find out what was happening to her waste.
The following month, she made a personal change that has since become known as ‘Plastic Free July’. She even wrote a book about it. Plastic Free tells the inspiring story of how ordinary people have created change in their homes, communities, workplaces, schools, businesses, and beyond (and see: https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/plastic-free/ )
It’s quite incredible that a small campaign in Australia is now known around the world with millions of participants from numerous different countries. You can visit the web site at: https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/ and maybe some up with some ideas about how to get involved.
A day of note that is not included in the calendar is Earth Overshoot Day (because it moves every year). For the first time, this now occurs in July – July 29th to be precise. This is the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services exceeds what the earth can regenerate in the year. This is calculated by the Global Footprint Network and ACE will consider doing something to mark the date. We will also be looking at other days and events to see if that might enable us to forge links with local schools and colleges as well as the wide community.
