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Global call seeks end to plastic bags, even 'green' ones
July 23, 2015
Global call seeks end to plastic bags, even 'green' ones
By Medilyn Manibo
Thursday 23 July 2015
A global coalition of waste campaign groups - from South Korea to Philippines, from Montenegro to Bostwana - has called on governments worldwide to phase out single-use plastic bags to reduce pollution in oceans and landfills.
To mark the 6th International Plastic Bag-free Day on July 3, environmental groups led by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and Zero Waste Europe organised various campaigns to raise awareness on the damaging impact of plastic bags and urged governments to initiate policies banning or regulating their production, distribution, consumption and disposal.
Plastics bags are widely used in households and wet markets for food storage. Consumers worldwide use about 2 million plastic bags every minute, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report last year. Their damage to marine ecosystems totals US$13 billion every year, UNEP added.
Scientists have reported that plastic kills many animal species - from camels to birds and turtles - and that the disintegrated plastic remains in animals’s body parts, possibly entering the human food chain.
Read more at Eco-Business.
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