It’s official – plastic is killing our wildlife. The BBC reports that all albatrosses living in the Pacific’s Midway Islands contain plastic, as a result of feeding on human waste products like toothbrushes, bags and bottle tops.
A big thank you to media like the Daily Mail for their recent campaign to banish plastic shopping bags from the UK. The plight of sea turtles and other sea borne creatures reached the limelight thanks to the Mail’s huge article and online petition to the Prime Minister. Turtles mistake the translucent plastic which litters our seas for jellyfish – their favourite food. According to the Mail, “Once swallowed by the turtle, the tough plastic becomes lodged in its gut, sealing the fate of the sea creature. The plastic is indigestible and wraps around the turtle’s insides. Slowly, agonisingly, the animal starves to death.”
Clearly this is not on, and together we should work on avoiding this occurring. Plus there’s the whole issue of the impact on the environment, including the fact that most plastic bags takes up to 1,000 years to rot. Sure, some supermarkets have brought out bio-degradable carrier bags, but there has to be a more efficient way.
So what can we do to cater for our shopping needs? Use ‘bags for life’ which are made of canvas and other hardy materials, and also our shops should charge for carrier bags rather than giving them out for free (you’ve got to admit, it is annoying to be given a bag for one small item, right?). We can’t be expected to be plastic angels (or foes?) and ditch all plastic from our lives overnight, but if we all try to eliminate some here and there it can only help.
Image: Clean Green Bags / Creative Commons
