Do Your Part For World Environment Day

Held on June 5 every year since its inception in 1972, World Environment Day is an initiative devised by the United Nations that encourages positive awareness and environmental action.

World Environment Day 2015 will be hosted in Italy where this year's theme will be sustainable consumption and production. The slogan is: 'Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume With Care.'

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It is predicted that if we keep our current consumption and population growth, by 2050 we will need three planets to sustain our current standard of living. World Environment Day was created to encourage individuals to discuss and take action in helping to better our environment.

The website lists activities occurring in all Australian capital cities, and around the world. By gathering together for this day we can take the opportunity to reflect upon and discuss ways we can make our lives more sustainable.

"Although individual decisions may seem small in the face of global threats and trends, when billions of people join forces in common purpose, we can make a tremendous difference." - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

Here are seven things we can do to reduce waste:

Buy Only What You Will Use

Overconsumption is not only unhealthy – with 1.5 billion people in the world being overweight – but the food sector accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the world's total energy consumption, and 22 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Australian Institute studies show the average single-person household wastes $363 on wasted food a year. By buying only what you need and will use, you are are creating less demand, which will lower the resources used to produce that food.

As the video below shows; the production of uneaten food takes up an area that is one-and-a-half times the size of the USA.

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Store Foods Correctly

By maximising the length of time your food can be stored, you are reducing the possibility that the food will go to waste. For example, when stored correctly an apple can stay ripe for over three months. There are many websites on the internet with great information on how to best store different types of food including the NSW Environmental Protection Authority.

Share Meals, Or Order The Entree

Restaurant and pub meals often come in much larger portions than people can eat. By sharing a meal not only will you be eating only what you need, you will likely have more money to spend on activities to further your night.

If you feel uncomfortable about sharing a meal, you can always ask for a smaller portion. If you are still hungry after dinner, there is now enough room for dessert!

Say No To Bottled Water

Bottled water is expensive as well as wasteful. It can take up to three litres of water to produce one litre of bottled water. Most bottle water is packaged in PET plastic bottles. Despite being recyclable, many PET bottles end up in landfill and waterways, taking over 1,000 years to breakdown and endangering marine life.

Take a walk today and count how many of these discarded water bottles you can see. Tap water in Australian is not only cheaper to drink, but healthier too. By using a reusable bottle and petitioning your local council for refill stations, you are minimising the waste you would otherwise be creating.

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Eat Less Meat

Farming animals uses a lot of water and land; 2,200 litres of water is required to produce the meat for just one hamburger. The space required to produce one steak, is an area large enough to grow 27 kilograms of potatoes. Livestock create more greenhouse-causing gasses than the transport sector does worldwide.

Kangaroo meat is a great alternative to eating beef as kangaroos produce little methane and require no extra land or water for farming.

Image © Facebook

Compost

You can set up a home compost bin or worm farm to save kitchen scraps from just becoming landfill. If you live in an apartment, campaign for a community garden and compost bin.

Don't Be Turned Off By Blemishes

Many fruits and vegetables do not make it to or out of the grocery store because they are shaped or coloured differently. Buying produce that looks imperfect makes sure food is not unnecessarily going to waste.