For wildlife...
The Bryde's Whale in this photo died after swallowing 6 square metres of plastic.
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In some areas of the oceans, plastic particles outnumber plankton (which a lot of sea animals rely on for food) by 6:1.
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Turtles and marine mammals get tangled in plastic bags or swallow them, some mistaking them for jellyfish. This causes over a million deaths per year.
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After an animal is killed by plastic bags, its body decomposes and the plastic is released back into the environment where it can kill again.
For the environment...
A plastic bag is used for an average of only 12 minutes. Only 1 in 200 are recycled.
The rest go to landfill or result in unsightly litter in the countryside, rivers and at sea, where they cause huge damage to plant and animal life.
In the UK 10-17 billion plastic carrier bags are produced and used each year: that's 160-300 per adult. To see what the average number looks like, see the picture of Helen and Rachel with the Mayor of Penistone, Joe Unsworth and 230 carrier bags.
We can't afford to waste the Earth's resources like this, on things with no lasting value that we simply do not need.
For Penistone...
Reducing plastic bags would mean less litter, which is an eyesore and a danger to the environment, wildlife and the public.
Not all litter is deliberate - a lot of plastic bags that are lying about have blown off landfill - even if you put it in the bin it might not stay there.
Plastic bags block drains (very relevant in Penistone!), trap birds and kill livestock.
Message in the Waves
'Message in the Waves' is a film from the BBC Natural History Unit made by Rebecca Hoskins. It shows how the plastic rubbish we discard affects the people and wildlife of the Hawaiian Islands.
'Message in the Waves' inspired Rebecca to make Modbury in Devon the first 'plastic bag free' town.
Modbury
For more information about this film, see the website
'Message in the Waves'
Why take a cloth bag?
Everything we do has an impact on the environment - taking a cloth bag is something easy we can all do to help. Over its lifetime, a cloth bag is far less polluting and wasteful of the Earth’s resources as it can be used hundreds of times before wearing out.
