Earth Day: Electronics and the Environment

For more than 50 years, April 22 has been celebrated around the world as Earth Day. Companies present ecological innovations, cities or various institutions announce actions of varying degrees of voluntariness, and individuals ask themselves what they can do for their surroundings and the entire planet.

The first Earth Day took place in 1970, and thanks to the involvement of millions of Americans from all walks of life and corners of the country, it became a landmark in the birth of the modern environmental movement. Today, it has become the largest social event in the world, when billions of people in 192 countries of all continents participated in its course. Peace activist John McConnel came up with the proposal for its establishment in 1969, who originally suggested March 21, the day of the vernal equinox, as the most appropriate date.

At the same time, however, US Senator Gaylord Nelson called for a large environmental demonstration on April 22, which was eventually attended by around 20 million Americans in thousands of locations across the United States. And so, April 22, 1970 became the first officially recognized Earth Day. The following year, its organization was taken over by the United Nations, which, since the beginning of the nineties, has been gradually expanding the activities associated with Earth Day celebrations to other countries of the world.

Get your students involved too!

Kindergartens and primary and secondary schools are the most frequent participants in Earth Day celebrations. Teachers debate with pupils or students about the current ecological situation and explain to them how people should behave properly in and during their stay in nature. A trip to the surrounding forests is often part of the lessons, where individual classes can compete in garbage collection - who can collect more garbage or clean a more difficult section such as a stream or a rocky gorge. After a similar adventure in the nursery, you will definitely appreciate the energy-saving shoe dryer Orava SW-470, which can dry up to four pairs of shoes at once..

The folding version of the Orava SW-482 dryer can be useful on the road, which thanks to the electric radiator will quickly and gently dry two pairs of shoes or gloves. However, practicality comes at a cost, the folding variant costs less than 50 euros. It therefore costs only 10 euros less than the  Orava SW-470 stationary dryer mentioned above, which, however, dries twice as many shoes or other soaked clothes.

You can buy a fixed variant of the Orava SW-471 dryer for two pairs of shoes for less than 50 euros and

the Orava SW-472 dryer for three pairs of shoes, which boasts an elegant design and integrated controls including a light indicator, can be yours for less than 55 euros.

Plant trees so we have something to dry and cook...

As part of Earth Days, volunteers and involved companies have actually planted hundreds of millions of trees, and tens of millions of volunteers have taken part in cleaning selected areas of wild nature or city parks. Organizers have started educational initiatives in 149 countries of the world and within
over 7 billion grants have already been awarded to the Green School project. Through them, schools, kindergartens and universities can receive a contribution from 500 to 3,500 dollars for various projects. It can be about the modification of the school park, the increase of ecological topics in teaching, but also about the preparation of information events for the public, and even legislative efforts to introduce more effective legislative procedures for nature protection.

Earth Day, with its spring date, unfortunately does not yet attract too much to harvest forest and other crops, for which it is still mostly too early. However, in summer and autumn, nature lovers cannot do without the Orava SU-103 A fruit and vegetable dryer. They can thus make full use of the fruits of nature and the earth, which can remain dried in the pantry or in the pantry for a whole year. Dried fruits, vegetables, herbs or mushrooms contain a large amount of vitamins, minerals, trace elements and fiber, all without the use of chemicals or preservatives. You can re-soak the dried pieces and thus get a fresh basis for preparing excellent sauces, but also salads or soups, even during the harshest winter.

The dryer is operated simply, literally by pressing a single button, while it is set to a universal drying temperature of 50 °C. Pieces of apples, bananas, citrus fruits, carrots, herbs or hand-picked mushrooms can be layered on five or even seven grids. device, which no nature lover can do without, it can do with only 230 watts of power and will cost you less than 30 euros. In addition, in the manual you will learn everything not only about drying various foods, but also about the most gentle approach to them and minimizing the consumption of electricity.

The multifunctional pressure cooker Orava MH-04 also has low energy consumption. It can replace several electrical appliances in the kitchen because it has nine pre-set cooking programs, including pressure cooking. Just like a pressure cooker, it significantly saves time and energy and at the same time ensures that all nutrients are preserved in the food to the greatest extent possible. Thanks to the non-stick ceramic surface, you will no longer burn any food.

The oval floor plan is a guarantee that the pot does not take up too much space on the worktop, and the container with a volume of up to six litres is enough for a large family. The outer walls of the pot are heat-resistant so that you do not burn yourself when handling it. The device has a low electricity consumption, and compared to an electric stove, you can cut your electricity consumption in half by using it.

Electric belongs to electric!

The theme of this year's Earth Day is the reduction of plastics in the environment. How the main goal of the organizers was to reduce the global production of plastics by 60 percent. They make up a significant part of electronic devices, which, however, as e-waste, are subject to even more stringent disposal conditions than the plastic itself. The world production of e-waste is growing five times faster than its documented recycling. According to of the regular Global E-waste Monitor survey 62 million tons of e-waste were produced in 2022, which is 80 percent more than in 2010.

Even though the Czech and Slovak Republics have been in the forefront for a long time across countries separating and recycling household waste, many electrical products still end up among municipal waste or in plastic containers. E-waste is not only a computer, a microwave oven or a kettle, but also, for example, light bulbs, flashlights, headphones or electronic cigarettes. In the case of larger electrical appliances, it is most reasonable to use the so-called take-back, i.e. the obligation of the seller to take back the used electrical appliance from the customer free of charge. Of course, the increasingly popular collection yards or red collection containers, designed specifically for electrical waste, are an ideal solution.

Recycling of electrical waste is carried out either by manual dismantling of the appliance, or mechanically with the help of a crusher and subsequent separation according to individual substances. This removes excess plastic, glass or metal, leaving separate electrical components. Recyclable materials are returned to production. However, this is not always possible, some plastics from electrical equipment can.


Image source: Orava, Eurostat, Wikimedia