If there is one thing that became certain after the United Nations Summit on climate change, which most leaders called a failure, it’s that for real change to happen it will have to occur at the local level. People cannot be forever waiting for politicians and world leaders to fix problems that must be fixed from the bottom up, and not the other way around. Some governments have made real efforts to affect change, however, some environmental groups are saying that people should not wait for governments to take action and if they want to see real change on environmental issues it will have to come from individual households.
Recent studies have shown that it has been the actions of individuals, not governments that have made the most positive changes on the environment. A mere ten years ago Britain was one of the worst recyclers in all of Europe with more than eighty percent of its rubbish going to landfill, now with just over thirty percent going to landfill it is obvious that the message has gotten through. While households have gotten on board with plastic, paper, and glass recycling many still lag behind on things like e-waste and batteries, which are quickly becoming one of the biggest environmental problems in the United Kingdom.
The recent implementation of the battery recycling initiative in the United Kingdom should help to raise recycling rates but it will still take the efforts of individuals to accomplish the goal of a waste free Britain.
|
|
