Shevchenko S.P., instructor of English, Foreign languages department

Статтю призначено найголовнішій проблемі сучасності – забрудненню оточуючого середовища. Автор наводить деякі приклади екологічних злочинів людства та надає рекомендації щодо їх скорочення.

Each of us in the developed world has played our part in creating the problem of catastrophic global warming and while there is no doubt that coordinated global action is needed to solve it, we can each be part of this solution.

So, ask yourself:”How green am I?” You might think you are doing the best for the environment, but even if you don’t buy battled water, buy local produce and reuse your plastic bags, chances are that you have some habits that are far more environmentally damaging that you realize. Every day people commit many eco-crimes. Let’s speak about some of them.

Food wastage. Of all the factors of overconsumption that disturb both human society and the global environment, food wastage is the most shocking. US household throw away around 30% of their food. Similar levels of wastage are seen in Europe. In the UK, some 6.7 million tones of food are binned annually. The annual cost to UK consumers of food wastage is £ 10 billion and the cost to the environment is the equivalent of an extra 15 million tones of CO₂.

For almost all the food we buy, the bulk of its greenhouse gas emissions arise here. This is especially true for meat and dairy produce. For example 40.200 tones of milk are wasted each year in the UK, adding up to the equivalent of 40.000 tones of CO₂. This is comparable to the annual CO₂ emissions of 10.000 cars, or of flying 30.000 people from London to New York and back. Waste & Resources Action Program, examined just why people throw so much food away. The most common reasons were that the food had been left on plates after a meal, was out of date, or simply “looked bad”.

In Ukraine food wastage is not so high, but, as you know, people make a lot of litter. In 2011, Ukrainians have thrown out in trash 30% of food products with total amount of 5 billion UAH. Contribute to the decrease of the quantity of food wastes may each of us. It is enough just to handle properly the products that you buy for your home cooking.

So, as consumers we should also think more carefully before we shop. Check what you have already got, make a shopping list and, most importantly, don’t shop when you are hungry.

Laundry. Fast fashion has created textile that mountains in many homes. Besides, advertisers ensure us that our shirts must always be “whiter than white”, our sheets should forever smell spring flowers or French perfume, and that to be dressed in freshly laundered clothes at all times is a rule of success. But it is shockingly wasteful in terms of water, detergents and energy.

One study found that over 80% of the CO₂ emissions produced during the life cycle of a single cloth arose from cleaning and drying it.

It is easy to see the consequence of these emissions. A full load in a washing machine uses around 1.2 kilowatt – hours of electricity per cycle and tumble drying clocks up to 3.5 kilowatt – hours, resulting in over 2 kilograms of CO₂ emissions per wash. With four or five loads per week, the total annual emissions from each home can easily pass the half-tone mark. Washing at lower temperatures and full loads will help to reduce laundry emissions.

Toilet paper. Toilet paper manufacturers have long provided options for environmentally conscious consumers. Top of the list is 100% recycled paper, which avoids much of the energy use and emissions associated with harvesting and processing new wood. Every kilogram of recycled tissue saves some 30 liters of water and 3-4 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Since 1 kilowatt- hour grid electricity is responsible for around 500 grams of CO₂, which means a saving of 1.5 to 2 tones of CO₂ per ton of tissue.

Recycled toilet paper is most widely used in Europe and Latin America, but even there it still only accounts for 1 in 5 rolls. But recycled paper can’t compete on softness so some use of new wood by the toilet paper industry may be inevitable. Sourcing, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) approved toilet tissue will help to ensure that any new wood fibers that are added to the mix have come from sustainable forestry projects that protect, rather than threaten, old-growth forest ecosystems.

In Ukraine recycled toilet paper is not very popular because it is rather expensive. But we have some problems with paper waste and rational usage of it. A few decades ago, when the volume of production of cardboard and paper was far less and before mankind has not faced the problem of environmental and energy crises, paper associated with something unpleasant, inherent in all debris and waste. Trash, as a source of raw materials, was not given proper attention. In modern society, waste paper is the main raw material of the paper industry. As the processing of waste paper allows to solve the problem of reduction of quantity of the household waste in densely populated areas and large cities. From 10 to 30% of the solid domestic waste in Ukraine is paper. One ton of recycled waste paper safeguards from the felling of a half dozen of the trees of the age of about 30 years. At present Ukraine is not able to meet their needs in the natural pulp at the expense of own resources. Despite this, in our country there is a lack of waste paper and about 100-120 thousand tons of this paper we have to annually import from abroad.

The system of recycling waste paper in Ukraine is rather primitive. On the one hand, the purchase price of waste paper is so low that not all citizens, even those living below the poverty line, are ready to engage in its collection. On the other hand, significantly increasing the price this is not possible, as in this case, the processing of waste paper will be unprofitable. Thus, it should be recognized very unpopular conclusion from all of this - the mass harvesting of waste paper to the population it is impossible to stimulate economics. It is a question of ecological culture. So, it is necessary to raise the level of collection of waste paper, first of all, due to social advertising.

This list is far from complete. Perhaps you would include air conditioning, using sprays or production of plastic bags. What’s not in doubt is that all the effects of our everyday decision can make a big difference to the global environment. Knowing just how damaging they are today may help us to make better choices tomorrow.