Plastic bag free day... Why is this celebration so important?

Plastic pollution is a global catastrophe and sadly it is a man-made one. Did you know that approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used on a global scale? Just think about how many of these bags will end up littered all over the planet. This is having an extremely detrimental effect on the environment, wildlife and indeed human health.

We have talked about plastic pollution recently when we released our Sustainability Manifesto . 

The marine ecosystem in particular is suffering immensely as a result of plastic pollution. 31 species of marine mammals are known to have ingested marine plastic whilst over 100 species of sea birds have ingested plastic artefacts. Over 250 species have become entangled in plastic, whilst entanglement rates of approximately eight percent have been discovered in some sea lion and seal species.

As you know already, Le Coq has decided to renew the Thalassios for the Ocean' project and strengthen its commitment to Ogyre to clean the ocean from plastic and fishing waste. 

International Plastic Bag Free Day is dedicated to heightening awareness about these and very real and pressing issues brought about by this most popular of disposable carrying devices. We are reminded that those bags we pick up from the retailers are used for an incredibly short time, usually under 25 minutes, and are then disposed of.

They may pass out of our thinking then, but they do not pass out of our world. Plastic bags remain in the world for anywhere from 100-500 years before finally decaying completely and have a profound impact upon our environment as a result.

International Plastic Bag Free Day was created by Bag Free World as a worldwide initiative for getting rid of the single use of plastic bags around the world. It is all about promoting environmental conservation by encouraging us to stay away from the use of plastic bags and instead look for more eco-friendly alternatives.

So, choose paper over plastic, or even better bring your own bags to the retailers to pick up your goods. Some stores even offer discounts or other perks for the customers that bring their own! If you own a store yourself, start a program to encourage your customers to bring in their own reusable containers and stop offering plastic bags as an option.

Together we can make the difference!