Ban plastic bags in the EU

Ever more deadly plastic waste is accumulating in the oceans. (photo: Ron Prendergast)

Source Rainforest Rescue

Eight billion plastic bags end up as litter every year in Europe alone. They are not only a blight on the countryside and seas – they can be deadly for seabirds, seals, sea turtles, whales and other marine life. Please sign our petition calling for a ban of plastic bags in the EU.

Plastic bags have become a symbol of our consumer society and our casual attitude toward disposable products. On average, every European uses 200 such bags every year – that’s more than 100 billion in total. Thin plastic bags are usually used only once and for a very short time – on average about 20 minutes – yet it takes centuries for them to decompose.

Eight billion such bags are not disposed of properly, but are thrown away carelessly, leaving them to flutter through the countryside and accumulate in bodies of water. Huge garbage patches consisting mainly of plastic waste have accumulated in the oceans.

Plastic bags can be deadly for marine life – above all seabirds, but also sea turtles, seals and sperm whales often mistake plastic drifting in the water for food. At least one million birds suffer a slow, painful death every year from swallowing plastic waste.

Sunlight and wave action breaks the plastic down into smaller and smaller particles that remain floating in the water. Fish are ingesting increasing amounts of these particles instead of plankton – thus putting plastic waste on our dinner tables.

It would be easy for us as consumers to dispense with disposable plastic bags and use durable bags for our shopping instead. Plastic bags must therefore be banned by law.

The EU now wants to delegate the responsibility for this issue to its member states, leaving them to decide whether to charge for bags, establish targets for reducing consumption, or ban the bags altogether. On April 17, the European Parliament will be voting on the proposal to reduce the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags. The proposal will then be submitted to the EU Council of Ministers.

Please sign our petition to the responsible policymakers.

Start of campaign: Apr 10, 2014


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dear humans,

we are the creatures of the sea.
and here we swim so happily.
until we choke on something
you threw away.
in our oceans, lakes,
seas and bays.
so please no more plastic
bags used on land.
they ruin our seas.
hope you understand.

signed,
turtles, seabirds, seals whales and all other
lives aquatic

Karen Lyons Kalmenson