Green After Quarantine

The COVID-19 pandemic has restricted global movement and production and few would argue that quarantine has had a beneficial effect on our natural environment. In the UK, we have experienced gorgeous weather for the most part making us healthier and greener. We are appreciating parks and green spaces like never before but the question remains as to whether we will return to our old ways of polluting the planet.

As people have spent less time commuting, air pollution levels have dropped and satellite images have shown dramatic improvements to cities that are normally smog choked. The World Health Organisation estimates that there are around 3 million deaths per year from illnesses caused by poor air pollution so cleaner air could reduce the rates of respiratory illness and therefore the burden on the NHS in the future.

Remote and home working should reduce the number of cars on the road and resulting pollution; video calls have become the norm so we should become less and less reliant on train and air travel; Boris has encouraged us all to walk or get cycling - we hope that these practices can be sustained as we commit to a low carbon future.

Once the panic buying subsided, it was reported that household waste has reduced. With most shops and restaurants closed, we bought less, realised we needed less and left significantly less litter. This is turn meant less packaging and less waste that delivered a reduction in landfill and harmful greenhouse gasses. 

The future of our wonderful planet will likely not be the number one priority for individuals and businesses today; many will be longing for a trip to meet their friends at the pub, companies will be watchful of all expenditure and everyone will be putting safety at the top of the list. That said, there are lessons to be learned from the last few months as in such as short time of lockdown Mother Nature has been given a chance to heal and we have all benefited as a result. The climate emergency isn’t going away so if we maintain these more sustainable practices, future generations will have a much brighter and optimistic future.

If you want to stay green after quarantine take a look at our range of eco-friendly and recycled products https://www.aston-james.co.uk/recycled-products