A person uses a plastic carrier bag on average for just 12 minutes
Worldwide over 1.2 trillion plastic bags are used a year, an average of 300 bags for per person. That’s over 1 million bags being used every minute
An estimated 3.5 million bags a year are distributed in Brighton & Hove alone
Scientists estimate each plastic item could last in the environment anywhere between 400 to 1000 years (New Scientist) (UNEP)
Excess packaging is not just bad for the environment, it’s bad for your pocket.
2007 studies show that excess packaging costs the average UK family about £470 a year (London.gov.uk) (BBC News)
When a plastic enters the ocean it becomes a harmful litter. Marine animals mistake plastic bags for food and swallow them, with painful, often fatal consequences
Plastic bags as with all forms of plastic do not biodegrade, they photodegrade, breaking down into smaller toxic bits contaminating soil, waterways, oceans and entering the food chain when ingested by animals
Nearly 90% of floating marine litter is plastic (Algalita) (MCS)
Plastic production uses 8% of all the world's oil production. At the current rate the world produces 200 million tons of plastic a year. Less than 3.5% is recycled (Algalita) (Greenpeace Ocean defenders) (waste online)
Since the 1950’s almost every piece of plastic we’ve ever made, owned, used and thrown away is still here on the planet in one form or another, whether it’s in our homes, landfill or in the environment. It will still be here for centuries to come
great short film about the problems with disposable plastic bags:
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