Plastic bags are not the only plastic waste causing an environmental catastrophe, but they are a significant and high profile plastic and thus are an effective starting point for beginning to address the reduction of plastic waste.
Thousands of shoppers trekking to the supermarket will re-emerge with four or more carrier bags each week. That means approximately 360 bags per year per household are consumed from the weekend shop alone.When you consider that there are over 10,000 supermarket outlets in the UK (Tescos has over 2000 outlets and Morrisons, although having only 382 superstores sees over 10 million shoppers a week!) you can see how each year, an estimated 500 billion plastic bags are used on planet Earth!
Little steps are being taken. In 2008, UK supermarkets reduced consumption of plastic bags by 26% (from 13.4 billion in 2007 to 9.9 billion). They have also managed to use 40% less plastic, replacing it with recyclable materials. A report on the production of carrier bags made from recycled rather than virgin polythene concluded that the use of recycled plastic reduces energy consumption in their manufacture by two-thirds, saves 1.8 tonnes of oil for every tonne of recycled polythene produced and reduces of carbon dioxide generation by two-and-a-half times.
Marks and Spencer has made the most visible commitment to reducing plastic bag consumption, charging 5p per carrier bag since May of last year. They give funds as a result to the charity ‘Groundwork’ dedicated to creating sustainable and environmentally friendly communities.
However, this activity is at best tokenism, as the reality of plastic bags and plastic packaging is posing a serious danger to our world and ecosystems. It is simple really: We should ban plastic bags completely. We all have a responsibility to use cotton shoppers.
Not only do plastic bags account for an enormous portion of our landfill as all too few are recycled, but the immediate effect of plastic in the oceans is becoming apparent.
Charles Moore, an American Oceanographer, discovered what he named the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’, over 100 million tones of flotsam floating between Hawaii and Japan, of which 90% is plastic and a proportion of which (approximately 8%)consists of plastic bags. Closer to home, the Mediterranean is the most polluted sea in the world, with 2,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometre. The plastic waste kills seabirds, turtles and marine mammals who mistake it for food. Studies have shown that the stomachs of these amazing creatures are often full of discarded plastic.
Plastic bags are normally made from polythylene, which means that they don’t biodegrade. They break down into small toxic particles eventually, and in so doing pose even more of a danger than as bulky landfill items. The materials that are used to fabricate the plastic bags are often lost or spilled into the seas each year, and the particles and raw materials are thought to act as sponges, absorbing chemicals such as DDT. The effects of this disintegration is yet unknown, although small sand-hoppers, barnacles and lugworms have also been found to have ingested tiny fragments of plastic, and as they are at the base of the marine food chain it is likely that ultimately they end up on our dinner plates!
There is only one thing to do! Stop using plastic bags. If you switch your plastic carriers to a cotton shopper you can reduce the number of carrier bags consumed by 290 a year, 2900 over a decade, 14500 over your consumer lifetime! Its easy and something that we can all do.
I was lucky enough to be at the launch of the 10:10 campaign at the Tate Modern on Tuesday.