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Environmental activist Valentina Safronova discusses the ecological catastrophe, conscious consumption, and the items needed in schools.
Due to human activities, the amount of plastic in the World Ocean is rapidly increasing, reaching over 170 trillion pieces in 2023, compared to ten times less in 2005.
Many are unaware that plastic leads to the death of marine life, disrupting ecosystems, reducing fish stocks, causing biodiversity loss, and negatively impacting the fishing industry. This also poses environmental problems and threatens the food source for those dependent on fishing.
Marine animals, such as whales, turtles, fish, and certain seabirds, mistakenly ingest plastic, suffering from suffocation, stomach blockages, and death.
Today’s reality are the turtles entangled in torn plastic bags, dead whales with stomachs full of waste, and billions of plastic pellets washing up on our beaches.
Single-use plastic, used for bottles, packaging, and some fishing gear, breaks down into smaller pieces over time due to sunlight and mechanical processes. It then enters underground water and further into drinking water, with its particles found in the human body, including lungs, veins, and even the placenta.
Plastic is now pursuing us everywhere: on land, in water, and in the air. Without drastic measures, the amount of plastic in the ocean is projected to triple by 2040. Transforming plastic into something less harmful will take centuries.
However, collectively, we can stop this plastic threat, and each of us must start with ourselves.
Valentina Safronova has developed a personal guide outlining the concept and basic principles of a green lifestyle, providing rules and algorithms for individuals to not only cease harming nature but also help it recover from the damage caused by human waste more quickly.
This guide gained popularity and had good sales in Ukraine, especially among students in schools and universities, where Valentina gave lectures on conscious consumption and the need to conserve natural resources.
Valentina believes these crucial topics should be included in the school and university curricula. While that’s a distant goal, the environmental activist takes the initiative, participating in beach cleanups with other organizations and giving lectures on the harm of plastic and the importance of waste sorting.
She also actively addresses ecological topics in her blog, collaborating with brands like Nivea, Loreal, Kenzo, Puma, No Waste Ukraine sorting station, and others that support ecology, produce packaging from recycled materials, and advocate for waste recycling.
“Not generating waste at all is the highest level of awareness, and achieving this is not difficult. Just start recycling all your packaging, avoid buying water in plastic bottles, plastic ear swabs, wet wipes, and don’t take plastic bags at checkouts—instead, carry eco-friendly bags with you,” Valentina shares.
