World Environment Day 2008

World Environment Day was marked in Wolverhampton with two events to encourage everyone to reduce their impact on climate change. This year's theme was CO2 - Kick the Habit.

The theme was reflected in displays and activities in the Wulfrun Shopping Centre and Bilston town centre on Thursday 5 June.

A number of organisations were on hand to help people find out how to cut carbon emissions and reduce their impact on our climate: 

Waste and recycling

Staff from the the city's waste partnership between the council and Enterprise were available to give advice and guidance on recycling in the city, and they gave away a number of reusable hessian shopping bags and backpacks in order to cut down on the amount of plastic bags that are used in the city.

Air quality

Council staff raised awareness of air quality by giving away 180 free trees for people to plant at home to help improve air quality across the city.

Energy efficiency

A total of 435 home energy surveys were completed on the day, and 1800 free low energy lightbulbs were given away along with 500 PowerDown units (for PCs).

Eco vehicles and carbon footprinting

The Marches Energy Agency displayed eco-vehicles in the Wulfrun Centre and in Bilston, and also offered people the chance to calculate their carbon footprint throughout the day. The average carbon footprint in Wolverhampton is 6,700 kgCO2 per year, whilst the national average is 9,300 kgCO2.

Fairtrade goods

Wolverhampton Fairtrade Partnership were available to answer any questions that the public had about fairtrade foods, cards and gifts, all of which were available to purchase on the day.