World Soil Day 2020 #StopSoilPollution

It is an unfortunate fact that soil pollution is caused by various human activities, including industrial actions, agricultural chemicals, and unsustainable waste disposal are some of the biggest contributing factors and the degradation of soil quality.

Why Does Soil Pollution Matter?

Did you know that almost 95% of the food we eat comes from soils? If soil is polluted, crops are much more difficult to grow and the crops that do grow can be harmful to anything that eats them. The damage caused to soils by pollution cannot be seen with the human eye and so it is a hidden danger that effects everyone on earth. China has recently categorised 16% of their soils to be polluted.

What Can You Do To Help Fight Soil Pollution?

• Avoid Single Use plastics
  Single use plastic is a product that can only be used once before being recycled or thrown away, such as straws, plastic bottles, drink stirrers, plastic cutlery, and many other types of food packaging.
  These single use plastics are a major cause for concern for the environment as most of them end up at a landfill site, polluting our oceans. When doing the weekly shop, keep an eye out for products with eco-friendly packaging instead to reduce your waste.

• Compost Your Food Waste
  Food waste is an ideal way to kick start your very own compost heap! Rather than throwing organic food waste into the bin, you can compost all year round and help deliver a nutrient boost to plants and vegetables in your own garden.
  
• Re-use or donate common household items
  A great way to reduce plastic waste is to re-use or donate household items to a local charity shop. Electronic waste is an increasing problem as devices such as mobile phones and laptops contain very harmful materials like lead and mercury. These devices are often replaced every 2-3 years.
  
  
• Dispose of Hazardous Waste appropriately
  When disposing of household waste, it is important to recognise dangerous products that would be inappropriate to be left in general waste. Chemical cleaners, oil, paints, pesticides and weed killers are all commonly found and must be disposed of sensibly.

World Soil Day: 5th of December 2020!

Here at Online Turf, we are hosting a celebration to help spread awareness of World Soil Day on Saturday December 5th 2020. World Soil Day has been an annual event since 2002 in effort to encourage event organisers across the globe to take part and raise awareness. Unfortunately due to the coronavirus situation, we cannot physically host people on the farm at this time and so this year the event will take place virtually, where we will have talks and discussions on what we can do to prevent soil erosion and what we are doing at the farm! Contact lewis.peters(at)onlineturf.co.uk for event information.

If you can't join us this year, why not create your own event? There is even a prize that goes to the best event where the winners will receive a medal and a $15,000 prize for their world soil day contributions.

For more information on World Soil Day, take a look at the Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations official website.