Environment Day is a day of action that is celebrated on June 5. The motto of this year’s World Environment Day is “Environment naturally makes you happy”. This day of action has existed since 1972 and was launched by the United Nations Environment Program on the occasion of the first World Environment Conference in Stockholm. Since then, around 150 countries worldwide have taken part in this World Environment Day every year.
This day of action is also celebrated in Cambodia. Waste is a particular environmental problem there. A waste collection system was only recently introduced in Battambang, but coverage is still very low. As a result, many villages still have no public waste collection service. People make do by burning the garbage in the evening. In the evening because the resulting smell is very unpleasant and plastic is also toxic when burned.
There is no waste collection service at the Safe House, but large containers have been set up for the collection of plastic bottles and metal cans. When these are full, a “collector” is called to buy these two raw materials, plastic and aluminum, at a low price per kilo and take them away.
This day of action is about recycling, the destruction of nature and the perception of our environment.
The film “Home” dates back to 2009 and was made to illustrate the world’s biodiversity and the threat to the ecological balance posed by humans. It also pays homage to the beauty of nature and at the same time highlights its vulnerability.
