GREEN SYMBOLS AT A GLANCE

For the past five posts I have been penning on green symbols. I have done so to let you know that consumables bear symbols that tell you how you can dispose of those consumables without compromising the natural environment. In applying what the symbols and notes that accompany them tell us to do, we help the natural environment in many ways. A hypothetical example is that if you dispose of a recyclable plastic waste in a proper way you should have helped produced a new consumable without going to mine the raw materials needed to produce that consumable. The environmental disruptions associated with the extraction of the raw materials, for example, would have been avoided.

I intend using this post as a point of convergence for the symbols I have covered so far in my previous five posts. So at one point you can avail yourself of more than just one symbol and what they stand for and their applications. The symbols are as follows:

CROSSED- OUT WHEELED BIN

The technical name for the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol is WEEE symbol. WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive. It is a directive of the European Union regarding the management of electrical and electronic wastes. The directive is to encourage the reuse and recycling of electrical and electronic waste.

There are two main reasons the electrical and electronic products bearing the symbol of the crossed out wheeled bin are to be disposed of differently. The reasons are recycling of the waste to make new products, and prevention of dangerous materials seeping into the ground from the electrical and electronic wastes.

MOBIOUS LOOP

The Mobius Loop symbol on products indicate that such products are recyclable. There are variations of the Mobius symbol. There are indicators (e.g. acronym of chemical compound) on the Mobius Loop symbol labels telling you of the particular chemical compound used in making that product. The Mobius symbol label tells you that the product is either made up of recyclable materials or the product can be recycled. The Mobius symbol label does not only tell you that the product is recyclable or recycled, more importantly it directs you to the facility where you can go and deposit the product for recycling. If you cannot go to the designated points of collection, people come round to collect them (this is done in Ghana for example), please avail yourself of this opportunity.

ENERGY RATING SYMBOL

The Energy rating symbol is significant in a way that is different from the other labels, yet ultimately it contributes to an improved natural environment as they do. The energy rating symbol is used in measuring the energy efficiency level of a product- home appliance. The energy efficiency level is determined by the number of stars the symbol bears. Normally there is a scale of one to five stars. One star is an indication of lowest efficiency, and five stars is an indication of highest efficiency. Also there are different forms of the energy rating label. The one I have presented here is a Ghana energy rating label. I took a shot of the label in an LG shop on Oxford Street (Cantonment Road) at Osu-Accra, Ghana.

The energy rating label tells you the level of energy the product uses. So if you buy say a five star rated refrigerator it means you are going to use a lesser amount of energy compared to the one who bought a two star rated refrigerator. In the same way if someone bought a one star refrigerator they would be using lesser energy than the one who bought an unrated refrigerator. You should benefit from using a star rated product by saving money on energy consumption, and reducing harm to the environment.

CE MARKING

CE

The CE marking is an acronym meaning European Conformity, originally speaking it is Conformité Européenne. A product with the CE mark indicates that the product could be traded on the European Union market. The product can be manufactured outside the European Union and still have access to the European Union market. Products with the CE mark manufactured in the European Union trade on markets outside the European Union. The CE mark on a product shows that the product meets the health, safety and environmental standards (among others) of the European Union.

The concerns of the European Union regarding the natural environment are sustainable energy and climate action, concerns mainstreamed from the United Nations SDG Agenda 2030.

These two concerns bring out the significance of the CE mark on products because by the mark, the manufacturers are conforming to standards that contribute to inducing a natural environment that can be used and reused sustainably from generation to generation.

PHOTODEGRADABLE SYMBOL

A plastic shopping bag with the photodegradable symbol, as shown here, breaks down on exposure to sunlight over a relatively shorter period of time by the integration of an additive into normal plastic. The plastic shopping bag breaks into pieces, and remains plastic in the environment nonetheless.  The plastic, in this case does not lie around or is it blown around like the normal plastic materials (plastic that lie around for longer periods of time), giving the natural environment an unpleasant look.

However some additive (d₂w) can be added to normal plastic to make it biodegradable, as a leaf would biodegrade.

PARTING SHOT

Through this post I have listed some symbols that speak for, and lead and guide us consumers, for that matter earthlings, to a sustainable and clean environment. I myself noted and took interest in some of these symbols of late, and by chance. Curiosity lead me to a little research on them. I must say that this has been a valuable experience for me. If we can take the little step of taking notice of these little symbols on the products we buy, and heeding what they stand for and say, we should be making greater strides towards a clean and sustainable natural environment.