ABOUT RENEWABILITY

Our planet’s natural resources are under great pressure. For most of these resources, once we use them, they are used up for good and cannot be naturally re-grown or regenerated within our lifetime. The only way we can look after these resources is to make sure we use less, keep on re-using them or recycle them so that they can be re-used. These are called finite, or non-renewable resources, such as coal, oil, glass and steel.

Another type of resource is a renewable resource. This is a natural resource that, if looked after properly, can be managed to supply our demand for resources at a sustainable rate – so those resources that are consumed are replaced. Wood, wool, hemp and corn are all examples of natural, renewable resources. When looked after properly, we can keep on using these renewable resources for years to come and they won’t run out.

There are many benefits of using renewable resources. For example, good forest management helps provide livelihoods for those people who depend on them, and helps support and look after the environment, its biodiversity, and other vital resources such as water and soil quality.

Most of us understand the benefits of reducing, reusing or recycling the things we use to protect our planet’s dwindling resources, but how often do we think about the importance of using renewable resources instead of non-renewable, finite resources?

Last year, we asked for your ideas on how to get people to think and choose ‘renewable’ and asked you to vote for your favourite to help make it into a reality. Our winner was Nick Williams, with his idea to run a national, schools-based competition to design a renewable image to promote the renewable message further and get everyone thinking and choosing renewable. This year we will be bringing his idea to life with our national schools-based competition. This will be launched later this year. To find out more and to sign up for an update as soon as it launches, click here.

In the meantime, if you want the chance to win some great prizes, why not play our Tree-Vital Pursuits quiz? Test your knowledge about all things environmental and for every correct answer you’ll be entered into our fortnightly prize draw. Or you can pledge to ‘choose renewable’. The more you join in with our campaign, the more donation counter points you’ll generate, which means more money is donated by Tetra Pak to WWF-UK.