Plastic Bags.

​Single use plastics are used, as the name suggests, only once before they are thrown away, or hopefully recycled. Plastic pollution is, as put simply by Surfers Against Sewage ‘plastic where it shouldn’t be’.

Plastic has accumulated over the years, the first fully synthetic plastic was created in 1907, however plastic bags have been used by consumers worldwide since 1960. These single use bags have been in circulation for over 50 years, back then we didn’t realise the extent of damage to come and we still do not understand the full extent of what our plastic usage will do to our planet.

Plastic is manufactured in a pellet form, these resin pellets are heated and compressed into liquid form, in order to create products like water bottles, micro-beads or food packaging. Plastics usually end up in landfill sites as their chemical composition makes them difficult to recycle, therefore, they eventually make their way into the ocean. Litter left on beaches in cities or towns and washed down rivers usually enter the ocean too.

Environmental supporters estimate that between 500 billion and one trillion plastic bags are used each year worldwide. Right now, according to Greenpeace, 12.7 million tonnes of plastic ends up in our oceans each year. It travels in ocean currents and is therefore distributed to some of the most inhospitable corners of the globe, scientists have recently discovered microplastics embedded deep in the Arctic ice. It is worrying that plastic has entered every level of the oceanic food chain, which means it is ending up in the seafood we eat.

UK supermarkets create 59 billion pieces of plastic packaging a year according to Greenpeace, therefore it is imperative that we start to cut down on single use plastics, to prevent more form circulating. The production of excessive plastic packaging which is designed to be used once needs to be stopped, reusable ‘bags for life’ are a great alternative to one use bags, as well as paper bags. Reducing consummation of individually wrapped fruits, vegetables and dry foods as well as buying in bulk helps to greatly plastic pollution.

And finally, supermarkets like Asda are finally cutting the use of all one-use plastic bags in food delivery section from July 2019. Supermarkets have been selling reusable plastic bags for many years now, which is to encourage bags to be recycled, these bags are more durable than standard bags and can be replaced for free. This is just one step taken to reduce our plastic circulation effects.