Plastic bags have become a subject of huge debate in 2008 but why is everyone so interested?

The reason why plastic bags are finally hitting the headlines is that they are bad not just for our health but for the environment. Around 13billion plastic bags are given free to UK shoppers every year and these bags can take between 400-1,000 years to break down, and like all forms of plastic they do not biodegrade. Instead they photodegrade, breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits that contaminate soil, waterways and oceans, entering the food chain when ingested by animals.

 

Many plastic bags end up as waste on our beaches, streets and parks. When a plastic bag enters the ocean it becomes a harmful piece of litter. Many marine animals mistake plastic bags for food and swallow them, with painful and often fatal consequences. Nearly 90% of floating marine litter is plastic.

 

Fortunately, a number of shops are limiting the number of plastic bags they give out or making customers think twice by charging for them. And now with increased awareness we can all do our bit by refusing plastic bags in shops, and trying to recycle or reusing the ones we do have. You can also buy a woven cotton “eco-shopper” bag and keep it with you for when you need to go to the shops.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 1:50 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.