Lockdown has edged us towards greener ways of living

News Letter editorial of Friday August 20 2021:
News Letter editorialNews Letter editorial
News Letter editorial

The first lockdown from late March last year produced all sorts of sudden changes in behaviour.

It became apparent within weeks, for example, that the retreat of humans to their homes was leading to a resurgence of nature and some animals.

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The fall in traffic levels added to that pattern, and made areas around busy roads radically less noisy.

Even the keenest petrolhead will probably have wondered if this might be a model for more sustainable and limited use of cars.

Already many of these changes have been lost in a reversion back towards normal.

From early this year it was clear that the roads in Northern Ireland, if not quite back to normal, seemed almost as busy as they had ever been, despite lockdown restrictions which were in some respects more severe than last year.

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One marked change from the first lockdown awas a fall in the number of carrier bags being dispensed in NI. From April 2020 to April of this year, 24 million fewer bags than the previous year were issued (a 30% fall from 56 million).

Will this too return to normal?

It cannot be that we have all become more environmentally friendly. The prevalence of face masks has led to an ugly new form of litter, as they are discarded on streets and fields.

And yet the overall policy of a carrier bag levy has both generated revenue and dramatically reduced the usage of plastic bags since the new cost was introduced in 2012.

There is a long way to go, both at home and abroad, to reduce wasteful usage of bags and plastic generally, and end careless disposals, which cause problems ranging from simple ugliness to ocean and wildlife damage.

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But lockdown showed us new ways of living that were not half as unpopular as might have been expected. At the very least it has edged us towards a greener future.

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Ben Lowry

Acting Editor