Before getting into Green Diwali let us discuss Diwali, considered to be the festival of lights is a major festival celebrated with enthusiasm all over India by people of all religions, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists. It is a time of celebration, light, and new beginnings.
Traditional Diwali celebrations generate air, noise, and soil pollution, posing a threat to climate change. However, we need not abandon the festival altogether. We can celebrate Diwali in a harmless and even more fun way.
Let us go through certain ways that will help the celebrations of Green Diwali:
· The festive pyrotechnics that illuminate the Diwali sky bring joy to many, but their environmental impact is undeniable. The noxious fumes and deafening explosions worsen our already deteriorating air quality, posing a significant risk to public health, especially among the vulnerable. Why don’t we go crackerless this Diwali?
· Forsake the plastic lights and lamps that blight our environment and embrace the earthen lamps and diyas that illuminate our homes with their timeless glow. Support our potter community, the guardians of ancient Indian art, by choosing these eco-friendly luminaries. Let us usher in a greener Diwali, a celebration of light and harmony with nature.
· Gift your loved ones organic and natural products, devoid of harmful synthetic chemicals that defile our environment and bodies. A plethora of natural, organic, and homemade products are available, ranging from bath and beauty to food, snacks, and clothing. These products are free of noxious synthetic chemicals, food additives, and artificial preservatives. Homemade wonders or handcrafted bath and beauty products are exquisite gift ideas. Alternatively, you could indulge your loved ones with a gift basket brimming with assorted natural and organic products.
· Plastic gift wrappers simply contribute to the growing pile of plastic waste. Let’s use paper gift wrappers, beautiful handmade paper, old newspapers, or even cloth to wrap our Diwali gifts instead. Let’s create a trend that reduces the burden on the environment.
Also read: 60+ Diwali captions for this year’s Diwali uploads
· Diwali is a time for convivial gatherings and lavish feasts with extended family and friends. Let us eschew the wasteful use of plastic and thermocol plates and cups, which pollute our environment and cause immense damage. Instead, let us embrace eco-friendly alternatives, such as reusable plates, glasses, and cutlery, or biodegradable plates and cups made of banana leaf, palm leaf, or bagasse. Bagasse, a sugarcane byproduct, is a sustainable and biodegradable material that decomposes quickly and has a minimal environmental impact.
· This Diwali, let’s say no to plastic! Plastic bags take hundreds of years to decompose, and when they do, they leach harmful chemicals into the soil and enter the food chain, disrupting the fragile ecosystem.
· Blaring music in Indian cities augments noise pollution, disturbing young children, the elderly, and pets. Let us reduce the volume of our music to avoid contributing to noise pollution.
· Opt for natural colors over synthetic chemicals to create a vibrant and eco-friendly Rangoli. Add edible hues from your kitchen, such as turmeric, sindoor, curry leaf powder, or beetroot powder, to powdered rice, dry flour, or even sand. Alternatively, craft a stunning floral Rangoli.