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What’s so special about the 18th day of March?

Let’s hazard a few tip-of-the-finger guesses, shall we?
Celebrity birthday/marriage/break- up anniversary? Nope
Country independence day? Nope
Come oooon… this is no regular pop-culture make-up-break-up fiasco – something very important to modern day living was celebrated around the world on this day!
Ok, I will tell you. March 18th is Global Recycling Day people!

Seeing as the very first Global Recycling day was celebrated only last year in 2018, you are forgiven. But just this once. ok?
A little background information will help...
Global Recycling Day is the brainchild of Global Recycling Foundation which was formed by the Bureau of International Recycling in 2018. It runs an independent mission to promote, support and showcase the importance of global recycling to the future of the planet Earth.
Anyone with any knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals (formerly Millennium Development Goals) knows that climate change is the biggest environmental challenge of our time which requires immediate action. As it stands, most of the waste generated globally is either buried in landfills or burned – these results in the continuous stripping of Earth’s finite resources.
This is where recycling sweeps in to save the day. Research has shown that in a single year, all the CO2 emissions generated by the entire aviation industry can be saved by recycling industrial or home-grown waste. To protect what’s left of Earth’s resources, the plan of Global Recycling Day is to partner with like-minded initiatives to drive awareness of the urgent need to recycle more effectively by combining as many voices and efforts as possible to convince governments, businesses and communities around the world to view recyclables as resources, not waste, To this end, recyclables have joined water, air, coal, oil, natural gas and minerals to become the seventh major natural resource in the world.
The theme for Global Recycling Day 2019 is Recycling into the future.
Its focus is on harnessing the power of world youth to educate and innovate concepts and ideas for better recycling practices through a variety of partnerships. In preparation for this day all over the world, countries (UK, US, and India) and multinational companies (Nestle waters and PepsiCo) launched different activities to mark the day.
What did you do in your corner of the world to mark Global Recycling day?
If nothing, what CAN you do? Do you want to start or support a recycling business? Can you educate people around you? Are you willing to engage in discourse on the environment?
Your home, that’s right, that comfortable space you call home is the biggest, easiest and cheapest platform you can bring on board to support recycling. Simple adjustments to the things you acquire and dispose of as “trash” can make a world of difference:

-         - Avoid repurchasing items that come in reusable containers – buy the refill packs instead.
-        -  If you must repurchase recyclable materials especially in large quantity e.g. containers made of glass, paper, metals, aluminum etc, sort each item into a separate bin from biodegradable waste i.e. items that rot and donate or sell them to recyclers.
-       -  Properly dispose of trash – DO NOT dump them out of moving vehicles, on streets or in gutters/waterways.
-         - DO NOT pay informal waste handlers i.e. mai-bola, kole kole and likes. These guys usually end up dumping the items they can’t reuse or resell into waterways and street corners.
     Nigeria is a beautiful landscape, rich in all the major natural resources of our planet including recyclables, but our consumer-centric tendencies are steadily drowning us in our “waste”. Till we are able to rebrand what we call “waste” to “recyclables” we will never understand the wealth of gain waiting to be tapped, not only financially but for the environmental sustainability of our nation for future generations.
    The date has come and gone this year, but the focus has not changed. There is so much work to be done so there is so much We can do as individuals.
    Take up the challenge today! Start small!
    Come back in one year ( or daily)and tell me the wins!.
    Till we meet again to celebrate another milestone...




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