While COVID-19 has been grabbing the headlines everywhere for the past year, we must come to terms with the fact that even in this age of the ‘new normal’, old problems and challenges remain. The pandemic has eclipsed some of these issues, but it is crucial that we never stop paying attention to them. One such issue is the environment. The recent slowing down of air travel has led to a decrease in carbon emissions, but this alone is insufficient to heal our planet. Ultimately it is up to all of us, as members of the community, to play our part. Over the years, South East CDC has rolled out a series of programmes, including the Eco Kepalas @ South East and I’m An Eco Auditor initiatives, that seek to encourage young and old to promote the message of “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”, and will continue to look at how best we can better our environment as we begin the new year.