Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Plastic Bags Pollute




Just Say ‘No” to Plastic Bags


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 “The ocean is like a soup of plastic mostly composed of fragments invisible to the human eyes, killing life and affecting dangerously our health.” – Pierre Fidenci, President, Endangered Species International
 

SurfWriter Girls think that it’s time to talk about plastic bags and the impact they have on our lives and the environment.


Next time you run into the supermarket for a quart of milk, shop in a department store, or buy something on Main Street at the beach, don’t just think about the purchase you’re making, but the bag you carry it home in. Is it a plastic, paper or reusable bag? Your answer makes a big difference to the future of our planet.




Close to 400 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year. That’s more than 1,200 bags per person per year.

About 100 billion plastic bags are shopping bags.

Less than 2% of plastic bags in America are recycled.


Californians receive 600 plastic bags every second. Most of these are used only one time and then discarded.


Globally we use more than 260 million tons of plastic each year.




Because of plastic pollution in the environment thousands of marine animals and more than1 million birds die each year.

The United Nations estimates that there are over 45,000 pieces of plastic litter per every square mile of ocean. Much of this litter is plastic bags.






Animals often mistakenly ingest plastic bags, which clog their intestines and result in death by starvation.








Fish and birds frequently get entangled in plastic bags, become incapacitated and die.





SurfWriter Girls learned that even so-called “biodegradable” plastic bags don’t really break up fully and the toxic particles they give off can enter the environment and the food chain.

On May 11, 2012, Hawaii became the first state to ban plastic bags.


Most of the marine debris in the world is comprised of plastic materials (between 60 to 80% of total marine debris). Field studies have shown that plastics in the ocean are concentrated in the highest densities in the Northern Hemisphere, near urban areas. The longevity of some plastics is estimated to be hundreds to thousands of years! 

To illustrate the plastics problem, the students at Red Hill Elementary School in Tustin, CA, turned plastic trash into a giant Coral Reef sculpture made from 100s of plastic grocery bags. Audrey Benedict, a student at the school, shared this video.







What can you do?

Refuse
Just say “No” to single-use and disposable plastics such as bags and bottles, straws, cups, plates, silverware and razors.

Reduce
Reduce your waste: buy vegetables without prepackaging and/or look for products and packaging made from renewable resources. Look for products that have the least amount of disposable parts.

Reuse
Reuse rather than throw away. Glass and stainless steel containers can be used over and over.

Recycle
Recycle. Choose products and packaging that can be recycled. Then make sure that you dispose of them properly. 





Join the Surfrider Foundation in its efforts to
 Ban the Bag and Rise Above Plastics!





Don’t be a Bag Monster!
  


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