Modbury UK Leads Campaign to be Plastic Bag Free
One Woman’s Experience With Marine Debris Sparks A Growing Movement
Oct 3, 2008
Going green is trendy but few green actions are as simple as giving up plastic shopping bags. Understanding the impact that these bags and other plastics have on marine animals is often the catalyst for people to make the no plastic bag commitment.
Rebecca Hosking’s Story
Rebecca Hosking is a wildlife filmmaker who traveled to Midway Island as part of a BBC documentary team. What she found there marked the beginning of her crusade. Albatross chicks were starving to death, their stomachs filled with plastic debris that the adult birds had mistaken for squid. Debris collected from the rotting carcasses of dead albatross included toothbrushes, disposable cigarette lighters and children’s toys.
Returning home to Modbury, a small town on the way to the Devon coast, she found plenty of plastic bags in the sea near her home as well. That led to her to convince the businesses in her town to stop providing customers with plastic bags. As of May 1, 2007 every shop in Modbury went plastic bag free.
The Plastic Bag Problem
Statistics on plastic bag use are surprising. It is estimated that the average person uses about 300 plastic bags per year. And their average time of use is only 12 minutes. But they remain in the environment for hundreds of years. Many of the plastic bags make their way into the ocean adding to the floating rafts of debris. Some estimates are that 80% of the plastic debris found in the sea today came from the land.
Besides the endangered Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) and the critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schuainslandi) in Hawaii, marine wildlife throughout the world will be helped by reducing plastic bag debris. The sea turtles, all of which are endangered or threatened species, consume plastic bags as they are similar in appearance to the jellyfish that form a major part of the turtles’ diet.
The marine mammals, including whales, dolphins, seals and sea lions, are affected as well. Curious, playful animals, they accidentally ingest or inhale the plastic or become entangled, leading to serious injury or death.
The Growing Plastic Bag Free Movement
Today more than 100 towns in the UK are plastic bag free. In one year, the Marks and Spencer chain reduced its plastic bag use by 95%, saving eleven million pounds, all of which was donated to charities. Other countries are coming on board as well.
The plastic bag free movement is a good starting point for many people in the effort to go green but much more needs to be done to clean up the oceans for marine wildlife to survive. Perhaps the biggest value to come from this movement is increasing the awareness of the impact plastics have on wildlife and the environment so that people use less plastic and are more careful when disposing of what they do use.
