Shockingly, about 2 million plastic bags are used every minute. This accumulates between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags annually.
To make matters worse - did you know the average time each plastic bag is used for is only 12 minutes! This raises the important question of do we really need to be using plastic? This material is made to last and can take up to a thousand years to decompose - so why are we using it once?
The ingestion of plastic kills an estimated 100,000 marine animals and 1 million marine birds every year . These animals die in awful painful ways such as strangulation and suffocation.
This extends to many other animals such as: dolphins, flamingos seals, sharks, seagulls, and more.
Not included in that number are many more animals which ingest and are harmed by plastic. Because plastic is not digestible and doesn't break down - it gets stuck in their stomach and insides which can cause malnutrition, blockage and poisoning.
Approximately 40 percent of autopsies done on turtles confirm the death being due to plastic bags stuck in their intestinal tract.
A whale that was stranded and died has an autopsy done which showed it has accumulated a 20 square foot plastic mound inside its stomach.
Unfortunately, it does not stop there. Once an animal dies from plastic, the fragments and microplastics are re-released into the ocean to find their next victim.
This also continues into our food chain - the average person eats 70,000 microplastics every single year! We are beyond polluting the world for the animals and are now harming ourselves.
To reduce this - we need to stop using single use plastics for carrying our groceries.
There are plenty of alternatives for carrier bags such as paper bags, tote bags, jute bags and cotton bags - all with their own benefits.
Tote bags can last ages and look stylish when you bring them out shopping.
You can buy plain ones or ones with eco messages on such as the one on the left on Etsy here.
We are ever becoming a plastic filled world - and this has to stop...
Thank you for reading this blog! Make sure to share to raise awareness of these serious issues and take whatever action you can.
From,
A thread of kindness - promoting kindness to you and the environment. 💚
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