“How to keep the environment clean” as a topic is nothing short of a necessity.

It is common knowledge that unclean and filthy surroundings can breed disease-causing microorganisms galore. However, we all seemed to have learned to turn deaf ears to anyone who mentions cleanliness out of sheer hopelessness.

A wise man once said, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”

To keep your surroundings clean, here are a few more reasons why you need to keep more than just dustbins to ensure proper cleanliness:

• To Increase the Aesthetic Value

A clean and tidy environment is bound to look better than a filthy, smelly one with unbearably unhygienic conditions. An environment that is clean is bound to be aesthetically pleasing to look at as well.

• To Address Health Concerns

If a place has flies, filth and foul stinks, can diseases be far behind? Any area with lack of proper waste disposal facility is going to harbour germs, bacteria and microorganisms that do anything but good to the human inhabitants.

• To Kill Mosquitoes

Untended garbage can consist of decaying pots and discarded tyres. The garbage often gets stacked to such an extent as to form heaps that can cause water to stagnate. Stagnant water is the breeding ground for mosquitoes. Diseases like dengue and malaria might be commonplace in neighbourhoods with un-disposed garbage.

• To Better Livelihood

A cleaner city can mean improved livelihood. Tourists, especially foreigners, have a strong inclination for cleaner and hygienic destinations. Keeping your city clean can mean more tourists and better standards of living for the locals.

• To Breather Pure Air

Ever passed a garbage dump and stopped inhaling altogether for the duration just to avoid breathing in the witheringly obnoxious odour? You don’t need to do that anymore! All you need to do is keep your city clean!

• To Enhance the Appeal of Your City

A cleaner place will not only attract tourists but also attract big-shot companies, corporate giants and multinationals and create more job opportunities in your area! Why move the cities to look for jobs when you can stay and work in your own?!

• To Preserve Nature

Preserving Mother Nature is the need of the hour. The first step to working to working towards it is to keep the city you live in as clean and tidy as possible. It is your obligation as to be a socially responsible citizen.

Besides using dustbins to segregate recyclable waste from the non-recyclable one, you ought to stop littering around and ensure that the garbage dumps are emptied timely and disposed in the right manner.

 

The next few years will be important in the development of Nigeria and Carbon Credit.

Due to the increased number of large industries, combustible fossil fuels such as coal, power plant gas, oil, vehicles in Nigeria, the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases has become alarming.

Carbon dioxide is a harmful gas to humans but essential to plants. It can linger in the atmosphere for a thousand years. An increase in the amount of carbon dioxide creates an overabundance of greenhouse gases that trap additional heat. This trapped heat leads to melting ice caps and rising ocean levels.

In other to reduce the rate of harmful effects of these gases, the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 and the Paris Agreement of 2015  laid out international CO₂ emissions goals. With the latter ratified by all but six countries, they have given rise to national emissions targets and the regulations to back them.

With these new regulations in force, the pressure on businesses to find ways to reduce their carbon footprint is growing. Most of today’s solutions involve the use of the carbon markets.

The carbon market has successfully turned CO₂ emissions into a commodity by giving it a price. These emissions fall into one of two categories: Carbon credits or carbon offsets, and they can both be bought and sold on a carbon market.

A carbon credit is a permit that allows the company that holds it to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. One credit permits the emission of a mass equal to one ton of carbon dioxide. It’s aimed at reducing the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Carbon offset on the other hand is a certificate representing the reduction of one ton of carbon dioxide emissions. It is a way of balancing the scales of pollution.  Offset schemes have been used successfully in the past to solve other environmental problems.

According to Bala Wunti, managing director of NAPIMS ( National Petroleum Investment Management Services), Nigeria has earned about €1 million from cutting carbon emission in its oil and gas production in joint projects between TotalEnergies and the NNPC subsidiary, the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS).

In May 2021, Total announced an ambition to get to net-zero emissions by 2050 together with society for its global business across its production and energy products used by its customers.

Through a joint statement developed between Total S.A. and institutional investors – as participants in the global investor initiative Climate 100+1 – Total said it would take 3 major steps towards achieving this ambition.

These include Zero across Total’s worldwide operations by 2050 or sooner, Net Zero across all its production and energy products used by its customers in Europe by 2050 or sooner, 60 percent or more reduction in the average carbon intensity of energy products used worldwide by Total customers by 2050 with intermediate steps of 15 percent by 2030 and 35 percent by 2040.

Since Total and NNPC has taken the first step in Nigeria, it will be good for other top organizations in Nigeria to follow suit. With this development, it is hoped that the reduction of CO2 in Nigeria will be swift.

 

Have you ever wondered why ventilation is essential?

Ventilation is the provision and circulation of fresh air across a room. It is a process that either supplies air into space or removes air from space by natural or mechanical means.

Considering that our lives depend on the intake of air. The quality of the air we inhale in our homes and offices should be closely observed. Although this isn’t the most pressing issue in society, it still plays a vital role in our health, comfort, and productivity.

Ventilation at home and our offices are important to keep the house/office and its occupants healthy and comfortable. It is necessary we learn about the importance of ventilation.

Everyone knows that air is essential to life, but not everyone understands that breathing polluted air is almost as bad as not breathing air at all, as polluted air slowly poisons the whole system.

  Here are some reasons why ventilation is essential 

It eliminates condensations that damage the home and office.

It makes the environment healthier.

A room without proper ventilation breeds dust mites. These dust mites and their airborne detritus thrive in homes that are not effectively ventilated.

When their detritus encounters the skin or is inhaled, it can cause allergic reactions, resulting in asthma attacks, eczema, watering eyes, itching, sneezing, and a runny nose.

It reduces the impact of VOCs.

VOCs are invisible gases, they originate from a wide range of sources including cosmetics, air fresheners, etc.

To reduce this gas, it is important to install an effective ventilation system that will constantly introduce clean, fresh air from the outside to dilute and control VOCs in the home.

It reduces the effect of Radon gas. Radon gas is a colorless, odorless radioactive gas, which is formed by the decay of small amounts of uranium that occur naturally in all rocks and soils.  It produces another radioactive element called Radon’s Daughters, which can attach themselves to dust particles in the air and, if inhaled, they will stick to the airways of the lung.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has linked Radon exposure to between 3 and 14 percent of all lung cancer cases. In a Radon-affected area, it is necessary to install a Positive Input Ventilation system in the homes and offices to help to reduce Radon to safe levels, thereby reducing the risks to your health.

In conclusion, ventilation has a huge positive impact on our health and well-being. Indoor air pollution coupled with bad ventilation can lead to a number of health problems including headaches, allergies, asthma, rashes, and sinusitis. However, this can be avoided with the installation of a good ventilation system.

The Green Bond project in Lagos is set to begin.

A Green bond is a type of fixed income instrument. Governments, banks, municipalities, and corporations use green bonds to raise money for new or existing climate and environmental projects. They are aimed at encouraging sustainability and supporting climate and the environment.

Recently, the Lagos State Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Financial Market Dealers Quotations and Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa) to raise funds for the Lagos Green Bond Market Development Programme. The government hopes to use the bond to address climate change and environmental challenges in the state.

Governor Sanwo-Olu

Earlier, Governor Sanwo-Olu lamented that climate change is expected to hit developing countries the hardest. Unfortunately, low-lying states such as Lagos are expected to fare the worst.

Despite the devastating effects, the governor noted that investors increasingly viewed climate change as a gateway to new business opportunities. Investors now have an opening to profitably protect the planet – Green Bonds.

Typically, green bonds are commonly used to finance projects like energy efficiency projects, renewable energy projects, and pollution prevention.  Other considerations include Clean Transportation projects, wastewater, and water management projects. Also, green bonds offer tax incentives, such as tax exemptions and tax credits, in order to attract investors to the projects.

As such, the government expects to raise between N25billion and N100billion from the bond issue. This is according to the Special Adviser to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Mrs. Solape Hammond.

Accordingly, the Chief Executive of FMDQ Group, Bola Onadele-Koko, noted that the project is in line with the Governor’s THEMES agenda. The agenda hopes to achieve the SDGs as highlighted by the United Nations, which includes job creation, economic growth, etc.

Interestingly, the project will tackle goals 6 – clean water and sanitation, 7 – Affordable and clean energy, 8 – Decent and economic growth. More specifically, however, the bond will directly impact goal 13 – climate action of the SDGs.

Ever wondered what you can do with your dead phones? Aside from using the phone to distract or keep babies busy, or as a decoy for carjackers and pickpockets in Lagos traffic? Turns out, old phones are literal gold mines in the hands of those with the know-how.  Let us see how the Olympic gold medals for Tokyo 2020 were mined.

Precious Minerals in Small Doses

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there are 0.034 grams of gold in each cell phone. That’s the equivalent of 0.001 troy ounces, 16 grams of copper, 0.35 grams of silver, and 0.00034 grams of platinum, valued at 2 cents.

Typically, every cell phone consists of around 40% metals (predominantly copper, gold, platinum, silver, and tungsten), 40% plastics, and 20% ceramics and trace materials.

In Japan, the Tokyo planning committee saw this as an opportunity to recycle dead phones and to put them to use. They started a medal-making campaign four years ago. The LOC asked citizens to donate their dead phones and gadgets, which were later transformed into the 2020 Olympic medals. Impressive right?

Also, recycled materials were used in the creation of other elements used in the Olympics – the victory-ceremony podiums and touch bearers’ uniforms were made from recycled plastics and plastic bottles.

With Love From Tokyo

So, the Tokyo Olympics Local Organizing Committee has taken recycling to a whole new level, and we would love to see this initiative emulated here in Nigeria.

We must caution, however, that the amount of gold found in a cell phone, is worth about $1.82 (N900.00) at today’s prices. So no, it’s not likely to turn anybody rich overnight. Or over several years even, given the amount of work that will go into sourcing and processing the old phones. Hence it took so long for the Olympic gold medals for Tokyo 2020.

Having said that, a recycling program to encourage local participation should include incentives; not unlike what the Lagos state government is doing with the waste plastics collectors.

So, next time, instead of dumping that old phone or gadget, give it up for recycling. That way, we have less waste in our environment and more manufactured products like medals, jewelry, etc. It’s not just about phones and gadgets. It’s about everything like pure water sachets, plastic bottles, fabrics, old cables, etc.

Recycling it seems, is golden. Or at least, it can be.

 

 

You would probably be surprised to learn that most tea bags contain up to 25% plastics. The main reason for this is that in order for the tea bags to seal up and keep their shape in hot liquid, a plastic polymer, namely polypropylene, must be added. This is usually so that the tea bag is held in a  shape, which producers claim helps the tea leaves infuse better. Even though the amounts of plastic found in tea bags is minimal and vary between manufacturers it adds up to quite a bit when you look at the big picture.

Due to the plastic content, conventional tea bags cannot completely decompose. This makes them a bad option for compost material and the environment… not to mention your body.

Recent research from McGill University in Canada also found that most types of tea bags leak millions of plastic particles into our drinks not only from the sealing plastic but from the bag itself. Microplastics have widely been found in the environment, in tap and bottled waters, and in some foods. A new study has found that a single plastic teabag steeped at a brewing temperature of 95 degrees Celsius releases around 11.6 billion microplastics and 3.1 billion nanoplastics into a single cup

Most tea bags are made of thin and permeable papers and are not biodegradable. They contain harmful chemicals. The package and material can pollute the environment significantly.

However, it is not all doom and gloom with teabags.

There are few ways to recycle tea bags, including re-soaking used tea bags. This tea-enhanced water actually provides some nutrients if you use it to water your plants.  You can also break open the bag and sprinkle the wet leaves around potted plants for a similar effect.

Used tea bags can also be a great way to keep your glass and mirrors clean. Simply wipe the mirror or glass pane with a moist, used tea bag and dry with a soft cloth.

Leftover tea can even refresh your skin. Add a few used tea bags to a bowl of hot water and hold your head above the steam to moisturize your face. The same idea can be used to calm tired feet, too. Simply add the used tea bags and warm water to a soaking basin, immerse your feet, and relax.

So what do you do with your used tea bags?

Glitter is the icing on the cake of the craft and makeup world. Made of tiny pieces of plastic bonded with aluminum, glitters are quite charming but dangerous.

According to scientific research, glitters are hazardous to the environment; especially the world’s ocean. When washed down the drain they become a subset of marine plastic litter known as micro-plastic.

It usually takes four weeks to degrade. However, the degrading process varies and depends on the size, environment and other factors such as heat.

Most glitters do not degrade in clean water as it takes microorganisms to start the degrading process.

The safest way to dispose of these fanciful plastics is to permanently glue it to something you plan to hold on to for a long time. They should not be washed down the sink.

For a greener alternative, salt glitters (which basically involves the use of food coloring and salt) could be used as a substitute for plastic glitters.

 

Sanitation and hygiene are critical to health, survival and development.
Many countries are challenged in providing adequate sanitation for their entire populations, leaving people at risk for water.

Throughout the world, an estimated 2.4 billion people lack basic sanitation (more than 32% of the world’s population).
Basic sanitation is described as having access to facilities for the safe disposal of human waste (feces and urine), as well as having the ability to maintain hygienic conditions, industrial or hazardous waste management, and wastewater treatment and disposal.

The importance of sanitation and good hygiene cannot be overemphasized.
A healthy environment helps protect women and children from communicable diseases.
Around the world, over 800 children under age five die everyday from preventable diseases; diarrhea related diseases caused by lack of access to water, sanitation and hygiene.

This can be combated through a healthy lifestyle and habitual sanitation.