Take time to consider the effect of small things this Earth Day: AUPE President
EDMONTON – Union members know best the collective impact of individuals’ small actions, and Earth Day is the perfect day to think about the collective impact our actions, good or bad, have upon the environment, says AUPE President Guy Smith.
“If one person throws away a recyclable bottle, it’s a small thing, but if 73,000 people — that’s the number of members in AUPE — throw away one bottle each, the environmental impact is huge,” said Smith. “By the same token, if those 73,000 people recycled that bottle, the positive impact on the environment is similarly huge. Ideally, though, those 73,000 people will be using refillable containers for even more positive environmental impact.”
“Another small thing that the Environment Committee encourages members to do is to shut off items that use electricity between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.on Earth Day, which is today,” said Vice-President Sandy Kyle, the Environment Committee chair.
AUPE’s standing Environment Committee saw first-hand the effects of small actions when they toured Edmonton’s Waste Management Centre at the Clover Bar Landfill last month. Committee members got a first-hand look at how much waste the city’s new recycling system is diverting from the landfill.
“It was a very tangible image of exactly how much difference each individual person can make,” said Kyle. “The amount of material that is being recycled on a daily basis is huge, and yet only 60 per cent of residential waste is being diverted from the landfill. With small steps from each person in the city, the City of Edmonton’s goal of diverting 90 per cent by 2013 will be realized.”
Other Alberta cities have similar goals. The City of Calgary, for example, hopes to divert 80 per cent of all waste materials from the landfill by 2020 (currently, they are only diverting 20 per cent). Red Deer will start working on a comprehensive 20-25 year environmental plan next month.
Internationally Earth Day falls on April 22 each year but communities often hold events and celebrations throughout April, which has come to be recognized as “Earth Month.”
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