If you take a walk around any road where you live I’d be amazed if you didn’t pass several plastic bags lying in the ditch, on the pavement or stuck in the hedge. Not surprising really. In the UK, between us all, we use around 17 billion plastic bags each year. Just counting those freely handed out by the supermarkets we each get through around 290.
When I say ‘get through’ what I really mean is mostly we take them home then throw them away. The average use time of a supermarket plastic bag is about 12 minutes. And then what? UK citizens recycle approximately 1 in 200 of the bags they use. And the rest? Well, scientists estimate that it will take over 400 years for a plastic bag to degrade. It’s a sobering thought that since the dawning of the age of plastic in the 1950’s almost everything that’s been produced is still here on the planet (we recycle only around 3.5% of plastic packaging).
Disposed of plastic bags and other plastic packaging is everywhere. It chokes landfill sites and litters the environment affecting and killing around 100,000 land and marine animals each year. It is estimated that almost every seabird now has some plastic in its stomach. One Fulmar found in Belgium recently had 1603 pieces inside it.
The resources used making plastic are enormous. 8% of the world’s oil production goes into plastic manufacturing. Plastic production is increasing by 3.5% a year. So it will have doubled by 2027 unless something is done.
And many things can be done. Paying careful attention to our individual plastic habits is one – always using re-usable bags for shopping etc. But I’ve also been struck by the action taken by Modbury in Devon. Modbury became the first town in Europe to become a plastic bag free community. Now 50 other UK towns, villages and cities (Bristol included) are taking steps to follow suit. You can get lots more information by going to www.plasticbagfree.com
If there was enough community based interest it would be relatively easy for many others to join this process. Maybe together we can make a small but significant difference to our communities and their environment.
