On the 5th of June, the GWD Central Branch, Dr Amy Allwright,  hosted a World Environment Day on-line session around the 2023 global Theme campaign #BeatPlasticPollution.

The world is being inundated by plastic. More than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, half of which is designed to be used only once. Of that, less than 10 per cent is recycled. An estimated 19-23 million tonnes end up in lakes, rivers and seas. Today, plastic clogs our landfills, leaches into the ocean and is combusted into toxic smoke, making it one of the gravest threats to the planet.

Not only that, what is less known is that microplastics find their way into the food we eat, the water we drink and even the air we breathe. Many plastic products contain hazardous additives, which may pose a threat to our health.

The good news is that we have science and solutions to tackle the problem –and a lot is already happening. What is needed most now is a surge of public and political pressure to scale up and speed actions from governments, companies and other stakeholders to solve this crisis. This underscores the importance of World Environment Day mobilizing action from every corner of the world.

World Environment Day 2023 showcased how countries, businesses and individuals are learning to use the material more sustainably, offering hope that one day, plastic pollution will be history.

Rolene Lubbe - an Environmental Specialist; Geohydrologist and PhD student (Institute for Groundwater Studies) that specialises in Geohydrological Impact Assessments with respect to Quality Sampling, Geophysics and Groundwater Modelling - FEFLOW & MODFLOW - presented a GWD Talk in celebration of WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL DAY.

Her passion for Environmental Conservation with a focus on groundwater conservation and protection of water resources, inspired her presentation around the following topics:

What is World Environment Day? What is this year’s theme? What does Environmental Importance mean in South Africa? What is Environmental Conservation and Protection? Environmental legislation What do Environmental Assessment Practitioners do? Where do we as specialist play a role and the role of SACNASP. 

TALK RESOURCE

- Invitation to event
- On-demand YouTube recording