You will be surprised to know that India celebrates about 50 major festivals in a year. If we were to go a notch deeper, we would easily bump into 50 additional festivals at a regional, community-specific level.
Now, if each of these festivals is celebrated while causing air pollution, noise pollution, or with excess dependence on natural resources, environmental damage and rise in environmental hazards is guaranteed.
Does this mean we should stop celebrating? Of course not! That’s the last thing we at the Tribhuvan College of Environment and Development Sciences, positioned among the leading environmental science colleges in Delhi, will recommend. Instead, we want to take this opportunity to introduce you all to some doable and realistic environment-friendly ideas that will help you have the same amount of fun while being kind to the planet. So, are you ready to explore the ideas? Let’s delve in!
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Let’s Begin by Opting for Eco-friendly Décor:
Speak of any festival under the sun, and you cannot just do without the décor. We aren’t sure how many of you know, but most décor items are heavy on plastic and related materials that have a negative bearing on the planet.
This is where it proves helpful to invest in décor items made from natural or biodegradable materials such as clay, bamboo, leaves, flowers, and jute. You can even go a mile extra and develop DIY décor curated from recycled paper and cloth.
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How About Using Natural Colors?
This suggestion holds particular relevance in terms of the festival of colors, aka Holi. During this festival, we end up using chemical-prone colors, which prove harmful both to our skin/health and the environment.
An ideal choice here is to settle for natural and organic colors made from flowers, herbs, and vegetables, which are usually 100% safe and guarantee the same amount of enjoyment. Likewise, it helps to celebrate a dry holi instead of a wet one, where gallons of water are likely to be wasted.
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Choose LED Lights:
We at the Tribhuvan College of Environment and Development Sciences have observed an insane level of excitement among our students, as well as the general masses, as far as celebrating the upcoming festivals of Diwali and Christmas are concerned.
As we all already know, both these festivals are high on using lights, which is where it helps to take environment-friendly actions by introducing the use of LED lights, which on any given day prove to be more energy-efficient.
A major benefit of turning to these lights is that they consume less electricity and last longer, ensuring reduced power consumption. Let’s not forget that these don’t just prove easy on the environment but pockets as well.
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Make Wise Gift Choices:
Festivals are about celebrations, families coming together, munching on yummy delicacies, and, of course, the exchange of gifts.
Here again, there is room for making environment-friendly choices by simply opting for sustainable gifts such as handmade products, organic items, and reusable products such as cloth bags, samplings, and bamboo products, to list a few. Make sure you avoid gifting items that are high on plastic and even high on packaging, for that matter.
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Go Digital with Your Invites:
Speaking of festivals, how can we forget the need to place invitations to our near and dear ones? More often than not, we spend a lot on physical invites, which again make use of paper and plastic, eventually finding a way to the already full dumping yards.
Instead, what can be done as a better alternative is to make new-age choices and rely on e-invites that can be sent through WhatsApp, emails, or social media, which shall reach your friends and family in real time while ensuring reduced use of paper.
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Keep an Eye on the Waste:
We at Tribhuvan College of Environment and Development Sciences, one of the most trusted environmental science colleges in Delhi, would like to draw your attention to the concept of waste, which is usually a by-product after every festive celebration.
This is where you can do your bit for the environment by taking the lead in educating your guests about segregating waste at the time of disposal across categories like compostable, recyclable, and non-recyclable. This shall save work for the sanitation workers while ensuring that further waste doesn’t get added to the dump yards.
Summing Up:
In this blog post today, we have shared the most practical and eco-friendly ways that can make your festivals both fun and planet-inclusive. However, we would like to remind you all here that apart from the ideas stated above, it’s necessary that you obey the basics as well. What we mean is to make it a practice to keep pouring in small efforts like making use of reusable crockery, coming forward to donate excess food, and, above all, being willing to support local artisans as far as any festive purchases are concerned.
Just as important as it is for you to follow these suggestions, it is equally important for you to educate your counterparts so that collectively, we all can move in the right direction and embrace eco-friendly festive celebrations. We are excited to join the joyride. Are you in?