Sustainability News

Beat Plastic Pollution This Lent

Last Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent. A time of prayer, alms giving and of 'letting go'. 

Something remarkable happened just a few day ago: Environment ministers and representatives from 175 nations endorsed an historic resolution to #EndPlasticPollution. United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls it a "major step forward in our efforts to make peace with nature". The resolution concerns the full lifecycle of plastic (production, design and disposal) and will be binding legally by 2024. 

The world has committed to #BeatPlasticPollution. 

How could we respond in our local (school) community? Is there a plastic pollution-causing habit WE could give up this Lent? 

Do we really need plastic bottles? Cling Wrap? There are so many innovative and more sustainable options out there. Is it perhaps time to explore one of them? 

Does everything in our lunch boxes need to be individually wrapped? What could we do to move towards a waste free lunch box? 

Pope Francis too reminds us not to "Be indifferent or resigned to the loss of biodiversity and the destruction of ecosystems, often caused by our irresponsible and selfish behaviour,” and that called for us to change our modern lifestyle by reducing waste, planting trees, and by separating rubbish. 

Thank you to our VCAL students who did just this last Friday. They decided to #StepUpToCleanUp our local community as part of the annual #CleanUpAustraliaDay. 

Thank you to the many staff and students at St Joseph's College who try to be more sustainable and to do the right thing. Keep on reducing, reusing, repairing, repurposing and sorting. 

Thank you to our library team for raising awareness about current issues. Check out their regularly changing displays. And thank you to all of YOU reading this article for using this Lent season to let go of one pollution causing habit!

#ClimateAction #CareForCreation #BeatPlasticPollution 

Ruth Phillips 

Sustainability Leader