Sunday, June 4, 2023, 11:20
Human activity generates more than 400 million tons of plastic each year, of which half are intended for a single-use lifespan, and less than 10% are recycled. It is estimated that between 19 and 23 million tons of plastic waste end up each year in lakes, rivers and seas, according to the latest data published by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). However, the report stresses that plastic pollution could be reduced by 80% by 2040 if countries, companies and consumers make profound changes. Around these figures, World Environment Day is celebrated this year, in search of urgent solutions to plastic pollution.
Aqualia joins this celebration and reveals the results of the III Barometer of Sustainable Conduct prepared from the data extracted from the Sosteniblómetro, which expose those actions that citizens have more or less acquired in their daily lives in terms of responsible and sustainable habits.
III Aqualia Barometer
Concern about controlling water consumption at the current time of drought and energy costs move consumers to increase their sustainable behaviors. The barometer reveals that more than 100% of the people consulted state that they shower instead of bathing (5% more than in the previous consultation in December 2022); also 100% remove food from the freezer in time to avoid thawing with hot water; and the same percentage tries to keep the windows and doors closed when they turn on the heating (also exceeding the previous query by more than 5%). In addition, more than 92% of the people who participated in the Sustainability Meter stated that they turned off the shower tap while soaping themselves.
Regarding the percentages with room for improvement, a good number of them are related to the use of plastic and proper waste management. 62.5% of the people consulted avoid buying products packaged in plastic and 33.33% use cloth napkins instead of paper ones. Only 20% of those surveyed try to use a bar of soap and not soaps packaged in plastic, while 16.67% have ever bought in zero-waste stores where they fill their own container with the product they want to buy.
The Sustainability Meter invites you to take a test with five simple questions through which the user can measure how sustainable they are in their day to day. The result obtained invites you to reflect on what habits could be corrected and how to do it, offering sustainable advice to improve daily habits.
Solutions to help the salty lagoon
Innovation offers solutions to plastic pollution, as claimed by the United Nations on this day. An example of this is the Ninfa project that Aqualia develops in Los Alcázares. Aqualia, in collaboration with the City Council, is working on this project that aims to monitor and treat contaminants present in groundwater, subsurface and surface water in order to protect the aquatic environment, including the Mar Menor.
Ninfa incorporates the monitoring of various sources of pollution, such as treated water, urban infiltration (heavy metals, hydrocarbons, microplastics) and the intrusion of salts in coastal areas, as well as phenomena that aggravate the situation such as droughts and floods.
Aqualia, as the first company in the sector certified by Aenor in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), highlights that water is essential for development and can be a driver of change to promote a more just society, the main challenge for achieve the 2030 Agenda.
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