Be Fantastic - Say ‘No’ to Plastic

Properties of Plastic
Problems with Plastic
But what can I do? It’s Easy!

Properties of Plastics

Plastics have many properties.

• They are long lasting
• Can be coloured
• Can be moulded or shaped
• Light
• Tough
• Can be made transparent
• Relatively cheap to make and transport
• Many plastics are resistant to acids, alkalis, oils, solvents and heat

All these properties allow plastics to be made into a great number of products.

BUT , they also make plastics dangerous to the environment around us.

Problems with Plastics

When plastic products are made poorly or are disposable, then a problem starts to occur. It’s because plastics are long lasting, light, tough and resistant that when items are thrown away or disposed of, they stay in the environment for a very long time. During that time they can cause choking, poisoning, dehydration, malnutrition, pain, distress and even death to many coastal and sea animals.

Example – Laysan Albatross, Hawaii
This is a very well documented example.

The mother albatross has evolved over thousands of years, picking up small pieces of food floating on the sea surface, and feeding them to its young. However, with the increase in plastic pollution, the birds mistake small pieces of floating plastic, light and bright in colour, for food. In this way, the mother albatross is giving its young little nourishment, only a belly full of plastic debris. The young develop slowly and poorly and when it is time for them to fly off, they are so full of plastic and have so little energy from any real food that they can consume, that they are unable to fly. On the same coast, seal and turtles also find it hard to distinguish between real food and plastic debris. The favourite food of some turtles is jellyfish and a floating plastic bag and a jellyfish are indistinguishable to a turtle. The plastic bag can then get wrapped round the turtle’s intestines and causes an agonising death.

See the BBC Natural World Programme, May 2007 – Message in the Waves http://www.messageinthewaves.com/

Or read the article in the Mail on Sunday, November 2007 – by Rebecca Hosking http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article
_id=494758&in_page_id=1770

Countries and States that have banned or taken action to discourage the use of plastic bags include: (from the Message in the Waves website)

Australia, Bangladesh, Ireland, Italy, Taiwan, Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Scotland, France, West Bengal, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Switzerland, Rwanda, Denmark, Germany, South Africa, California, Somalia, Botswana, and the Philippines.

But what can I do? It’s Easy!

Firstly, Say ‘ No’, to plastic bags. When you offered a plastic bag at a supermarket or shop, say “no thank you!” This is only a matter of routine, memory and practice. Take a reusable bag with you everyday. There are many bags available, in high street stores and online. However, we have found a fantastic website and group of people, across the country, that are making their own bags out of recycled fabric. Go on to their website to get the pattern and start making your bags out of any old pillow case, curtains or tablecloth. In fact while you’re there, make a few, and give some to your friends.

http://www.morsbags.com/

Take a look at this video too, on My Space called ‘Plastic Planet; the Curse of the Plastic Carrier.’ It even features our friend from the Carbon Footprint Project, Mukti Mitchell.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=3320169

Then, when you and your friends no longer need plastic bags, get your village, town or area to become plastic bag free.

In May 2007 the town of Modbury in Devon became plastic bag free. They saw the direct effects of plastic on the beaches of Devon and decided to act. Join them, and other towns like them to become FREE from PLASTIC BAGS!