The items are mostly non-biodegradable and some have been known to cause ailments

  The world marked annual Earth Day last Saturday. Earth Day, which promotes environmental protection, was first commemorated on April 22, 1970 and all Earth Day events in more than 193 countries are coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network. In your own way, you can contribute to environmental preservation by avoiding the use of 11 items enumerated in a CNN report.

The items are:

*Hand soap with triclosan. The chemical has been deemed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as unsafe and ineffective against fighting bacteria and germs after long-term use. Triclosan is also resilient as it can survive water treatment as well as destroy sea bacteria that form the base of the food chain. *Coffee pods. They are difficult to recycle and billions reportedly end up in landfills worldwide. *Toothpaste, shower gels and cream products that have plastic microbeads. Microbeads are non-biodegradable, too small to be caught in cleanup activities and attract toxic chemicals as they travel to the ocean. *Disposable, wooden chopsticks. Four million trees are cut down to produce more than 50 billion chopsticks every year. The environmental group Greenpeace has claimed that wooden chopsticks are treated with chemicals that can cause respiratory ailments. *Wet wipes. They contain plastic and do not break down easily unlike paper. Wet wipes have been found to block toilet pipes. *Non-biodegradable plastic bags. They clog waterways and landfill sites. On top of that, plastic bags release chemicals in the air when burned. *Batteries. They contain cadmium, mercury and lead that leak into the soil and release metals in the air wen incinerated. It is best to use rechargeable batteries. *Traditional paper tea bags but many manufacturers are reportedly using new formulas based on nylon or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). They contain plastic Plastic tea bags do not decompose. *Birth control pills. They contain endocrine disruptors, which can make certain fish species unable to reproduce. *Polystyrene containers. They are non-biodegradable and cannot be recycled easily. *Disposable razors. Their manufacture is carbon-intensive so electric and straight razors are better alternatives. GAC/Expat 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