3 small steps you can do to help the environment

Helping the environment may seem like a monumental task, especially when you look at how much change is needed to further improve its current condition. Enabling change through small acts, however, can grow into something bigger that may eventually help the environment. Here are some ways that anyone can do to make the world a better place to live in:

Conserve water. Don’t leave water from the faucet continuously running while brushing your teeth, bathing, doing the dishes or the laundry. Make sure your house is free of leaky pipes, faucets, and toilets. According to World Wide Fund (WWF), a tap dripping 45 times per minute wastes about 1,000 liters of water a month. There’s a reason why scientists look at water on other planets as an indication of possible life: it is an essential element of the survival of humankind. With the increasing population, there is also a great need for water to sustain life, not only through drinking water, but also in growing food and providing proper sanitation.

Carpool and maintain your vehicle properly. Carpooling does wonders for cutting down on carbon emissions. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, a typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. If we keep our trips more efficient and avoid single passenger rides, we keep emissions to a minimum. Making our trips more efficient also means keeping our vehicles in optimal condition to keep it running smoothly and more efficient in consuming gas. Less greenhouse gases means lesser impact on the warming of the planet and keeping pollution to a minimum.

Collect your plastic waste and bring it to barangay centers participating in the Surf Walastik campaign. Just bring a month’s worth of flexible plastic waste of any brand and bring it to your Surf’s Misis Walastik Kolek, Kilo, Kita activity in participating barangay centers. Your plastic waste will be weighed and exchanged for vouchers and products from Unilever. Simply wait for announcements from your barangay halls and Surf’s Waste Wais Teams on when the Kolek, Kilo, Kita activities will happen in your barangay.

According to Ed Sunico, Unilever’s Vice President for Sustainable Business and Communications, “The campaign is basically to teach each household, mostly managed by the moms, to segregate their waste and remind them that plastic has value.” All the plastic sachets they collect go to partners who convert these to plastic chairs, which are then donated to public schools. Sunico adds, “The Surf Walastik program is a part of a bigger Zero Waste to Nature program. Unilever intends to have all their packaging 100% recyclable, compostable, and reusable by 2025.”

The Surf Misis Walastik program is a play on words meaning ‘walang plastik’. This year, the program has successfully recovered over 200 metric tons of plastic waste from over 250 barangays. Watch out for announcements around your barangay and get ready with your plastic waste as they accept plastic packaging from any brand. Every kilo of plastic waste is exchangeable for P10 worth of Unilever products.