World Environment Day 5 June 2018 – How you can get involved

World Environment Day is the United Nations’ most important day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. Since it began in 1974 it has been a platform for action and is widely celebrated in over 100 countries.

World Environment Day calls on all of us to get involved. It is the “people’s day” for doing something to care for the Earth. That “something” can be focused locally, nationally or globally; it can be a solo act or involve a crowd.

The theme for 2018 is beating plastic pollution. Did you know 13 million tonnes of plastic leak into our oceans each year?

If you can’t reuse it – refuse it

There are many ways you can get involved and contribute to making a difference:

• If you can’t reuse it, refuse it (i.e. plastic cutlery, straws, packaging trays)
• Bring your own shopping bags to the supermarket
• Pick up any plastic you see the next time you go for a walk in a park or on the beach

“Beat Plastic Pollution”, the theme for World Environment Day 2018, is a call to action for all of us to combat one of the great environmental challenges of our time. The theme invites us all to consider how we can make changes in our everyday lives to reduce the heavy burden of plastic pollution on our natural places, our wildlife and our own health. While plastic has many valuable uses, we have become over-reliant on single-use or disposable plastic with severe environmental consequences. This World Environment Day organisers will be engaging partners from all corners of society and the world to join in raising awareness and inspiring action to form the global movement needed to beat plastic pollution for good.

WA has a number of World Environmental Day activities you can take part in:

WA: Event for World Environment Day, 29 June, East Perth

World Environment Day Primary Schools Festival, June, City of Cockburn

Protecting our planet and the environment we live in is everyone’s responsibility. Please get involved and invest in a better future for all.