Giving Hands

Scientists and conservationists have stressed time and again that plastic bags are a threat to our marine wildlife. But a layman would not see the connection between plastic "grocery" bags and whales, sea turtles and sea lions.

To explain the "connection", we need to know (and believe) that about four-fifths of all marine litter comes from land, swept by wind or washed by rain off highways and city streets, down streams and rivers, and out to the sea. And of these, nearly 90% of floating marine litter is plastic.

In June 2006, a United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report estimated that there are an average of 46,000 pieces of plastic debris floating on or near the surface of every square mile of ocean. However in the most concentrated areas this figure was reported to be at over 1 million pieces.

Almost all marine wildlife is affected by the quantum of plastic bags found in the oceans. For example, beaked whale species are highly susceptible to swallowing plastic bags as they are believed to strongly resemble their target prey, squid. Other species of large whales, which take large mouthfuls of water during feeding, also take in plastic bags by accident. Similarly, the leatherback turtles are also at risk because plastic bags that float in the ocean resemble jellyfish, their staple food.

Turtle ingesting plastic
A turtle ingesting a piece of plastic.

Worldwide, at least 143 marine species are known to have become entangled in marine debris (including almost all of the world's species of sea turtles) and at least 177 marine species (including 95% of all the world's seabirds) have eaten plastic litter.

Leatherback turtle entangled
An entangled leatherback turtle.

Apart from whales and turtles, over tens of thousands of seabirds choke or get tangled in plastic debris (including domestic waste and disused fishing gear) and about 100,000 seals, sea lions, dolphins and other marine mammals suffer the same fate, although some scientists believe this figure to be much higher.

Now that you have seen from a scientist's or conservationist's point of view, do you still think that plastic bags aren't a threat to our wildlife? One of the most important thing we must all understand is that there is no such thing as "away" when it comes to disposing of plastic bags. When you say "Oh just throw it away", where precisely is "away"? Just because it is no longer in your home, or your office or your car, it does not mean it is "away". It just means that we no longer have to view daily and it is, in fact, somewhere else on this planet.

Be a responsible consumer. Be aware of what you throw out of the window or into drains and streams and rivers. Better still, reduce your own consumption of plastic bags and that of your household.