Go Green Now

Project Act is an initiative by us at Beyond Borders to encourage sustainable, environmentally-friendly, ‘green’ living. Climate change is now an accepted fact and the sooner we move towards taking positive action and making positive change, the better. Why should we care? Well, if the melting ice caps, rising sea levels, coastal degradation and the prospect of Jaffna eventually being submerged don’t worry you (and personally, it scares the crap out of us), well, its just getting too damn hot in here.

Understanding that Sri Lanka is but a small fish in the big sea of climate change policy and action does not mean we are prepared to sit back and do nothing. Even though, as Sri Lankans, we already have an innate culture of practicing the environmentalist’s mantra Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, there is still much that we can do to towards sustainable development and the environment. As for any doubting Thomas who asks  ‘why should we care?’, a quick stroll down any road and a quick glance at the piles of garbage on street corners, the dirty drains and rivers, the polluted beaches and the dengue death toll should be satisfactory answers.

The team at Project Act has identified Waste Management as a core environmental concern in Sri Lanka. What? you may ask.  Exactly.  There is a startling ignorance among the general public on how to mange the waste they produce on a daily basis. And they produce a lot of waste. 650 tonnes to be precise. If that number is too big for you to wrap your head around, picture 150 elephants. Now think of where to put them. Daily. That’s the problem faced by the Colombo Municipality. And that’s where we come in.

Through a series of events and small projects designed to not only create awareness on waste management, but also to actively promote and implement it, Project Act hopes to make a small but lasting difference in the community and more importantly, the environment.

To kick things off we will be having a demonstration and beach clean up on the 24th of October in Wellawatta, which, coincidentally, coincides with the International Day of Climate Action. Join us as we show our support for a new global climate treaty at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December.

Follow us on Twitter, check out our Facebook event page and 350 page, and watch this space for more details.

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