Earth Day Focus and Competition: Water Pollution

This is the fifth instalment of our week-long competition in collaboration with Incognito Bug Spray to celebrate Earth Day 2017! Earth Day is on the 22nd of April (this Saturday!) and campaigns to build global a community, fluent in concepts of climate change and its threat to our planet.

Today, we are focusing on the issues of water pollution, how we can reduce water pollution and why is it such an important issue..

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, water pollution is one of the most serious ecological threats that we face today. It occurs when toxic substances, such as sewage, litter and industrial waste, enter bodies of water such as oceans, lakes and rivers, which degrades the quality of the water. This is bad news for not only plants and animals who inhabit our planet’s waters, but for all of us reliant on the land nourished by these waters around the world,.

There are a few simple ways we can  all help reduce our impact:

• Use fewer chemicals to clean your home. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides a list of ‘green’ cleaning products which don’t pollute the water supply. You could even use non-toxic household supplies, such as baking soda or vinegar, to clean your household.

• Dispose of waste properly. Anything that isn’t biodegradable, which means it cannot be broken down by microorganisms, should not be poured down the drain. If you are unsure on how to dispose of something, such as paint, motor oil or cleaning solvents, then check your local government’s website for advice.

• Don’t flush medication or trash. Flushing medication, that contain a variety of substances, down the toilet can be harmful to the water supply. They can end up in local streams, rivers and other bodies of water, along with items – like diapers and wet wipes – that have also been flushed and cannot be broken down.  

• Prevent soil erosion from occurring. When this happens, soil can find itself in streams, rivers and other waterways. It becomes a problem when the chemicals that exist in soil pollute the water, creating problems for nearby plant and animal life. To prevent this, you can plant plenty of trees, shrubs and grass to keep the soil in place.

• Keep your car in good repair. Your car could leak oil and other chemicals into the groundwater beneath the soil. To prevent this from happening, make sure you get your car regularly serviced!

• Help clean up litter in water filled areas. If you live near a local body of water, such as a lake, river or even by the sea, then you can get involved with local clean up days.

At Kaya, we have a fantastic internship where volunteers can work for an organisation and contribute to the improvement and rehabilitation of polluted environments in Vietnam.  This internship not only provides you with hands on experience, but it can also provide credits, which count towards your university course.  By joining us on this internship, you will be able to contribute towards the management of water pollution and bring home new knowledge of how you can make the earths waters’ cleaner.

Whilst you’re on the project, we believe that a great product to take with you on your travels is Incognito Bug Spray. It’s 100% natural and compact with its biodegradable formula clinically tested to provide 100% protection against Zika and malaria carrying mosquitoes. Incognito doesn’t use any pesticides or chemicals, unlike other insoluble environmental contaminants like DEET, it doesn’t pollute the world’s waterways, and kill aquatic wildlife. The water-based incognito anti-mosquito roll on is kinder on both your skin and the planet!

All incognito products are ethically manufactured and put the environment first, to ensure that while protecting you, they also protect the environment, using recycled or renewable source sugarcane plastic in its packaging AND donating 10% of profits to charity.

ENTER TO WIN!

If you would like to be in with a daily chance of winning a sample for yourself, and be entered into the prize draw to win a hamper of Incognito products worth £62, then all you need to do is comment below answering this question:

What are some simple steps you take to prevent water pollution?