From Clean Plates to Clean Cities
Every piece of litter left on a street, plastic bottle thrown into a river, or food discarded unnecessarily adds to a much larger environmental problem. Observed every year on September 20, “World Cleanup Day” has grown from a grassroots initiative into a global civic movement. Poorly managed waste can pollute soil, rivers, lakes, and oceans; harm wildlife; and contribute to unhealthy living environments. Clean up is often seen as something that happens after a place becomes dirty. But a more sustainable approach is to make cleanliness a culture, not a campaign. While humanity struggles to cope and keep the environment cleaner, another challenge daunts everyone: the need to clean up the spaces in the mind. People have known the value of cleanliness for thousands of years. The challenge is to extend the cleanliness we practise in our homes to the streets we share, the rivers we depend on and the planet we collectively inhabit.
The Planet Is Everyone’s Home, And Keeping It Clean Is a Shared Responsibility
Every piece of litter left on a street, plastic bottle thrown into a river, or food discarded unnecessarily adds to a much larger environmental problem. “World Cleanup Day” brings people together to take responsibility for the places we live in and work together to keep them clean. Observed every year on September 20, “World Cleanup Day” has grown from a grassroots initiative into a global civic movement. It started in Estonia in 2008, when 50,000 people (4% of its population) came together to clean the country (it took just five hours). The idea spread internationally and caught the UN’s attention, leading to September 20 being declared World Cleanup Day. This year’s observation highlights food waste. According to the UN, more than 1 billion tonnes of food are wasted each year, equivalent to about 19% of food available to consumers.
Poorly managed waste can pollute soil, rivers, lakes, and oceans; harm wildlife; and contribute to unhealthy living environments. Plastic waste is particularly persistent and can remain in the environment for decades or longer. Materials thrown away may contain valuable resources that could have been reused, repaired, recycled, or recovered. Most waste ends up in oceans and begins impacting marine life. From there, it starts coming back to humans, and the cycle continues.
Need To Move
From “Clean It After It Becomes Waste”
To “Prevent Waste From Being Created”
Clean up is often viewed as an activity that happens after a place becomes dirty. But a more sustainable approach is to make cleanliness a culture rather than a campaign. This cultural change begins with small habits. It also has an important psychological dimension. People tend to take greater care of spaces they feel belong to them. A community that collectively cleans a park, street or neighbourhood may develop a stronger sense of ownership of that space. Â
The Greatest Threat To Our Planet Is The Belief That Someone Else Will Save It.
Robert Swan
The idea of cleanliness is not new to India. Ancient Indian thought used the concept of śauca (शौच) to refer to purity and cleanliness. In the Bhagavad Gita, śauca is listed among the qualities associated with knowledge. Traditional commentary interprets it not merely as physical cleanliness but also as an inner purification of the mind.
While humanity struggles to cope and keep the environment cleaner, another challenge daunts everyone: the need to clean up the spaces in the mind. So much content and so many modes of reaching you; all of us fall victim to it. Hope humans take steps to ensure it does not reach a point of no return.
People have known the value of cleanliness for thousands of years. The challenge is to extend the cleanliness we practise in our homes to the streets we share, the rivers we depend on and the planet we collectively inhabit.
A Clean World Is Not A World Without Waste;
It Is A World That Knows
How To Prevent, Reuse, Recover
And Responsibly Manage What It Produces.
Toon: Reema
Logs: M Sai Baba
ToonLogs
