- 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year.
- 1 million plastic bags are used every minute.
- 150 plastic bags are used per person every year.
- 90% of plastic bags are discarded.
- Many of which end up in our oceans.
- Plastic bags are consistently in the top 10 items found on a beach clean up.
- Plastic bags kill one million seabirds every year.
- Plastic bags kill 100,000 marine mammals every year.
- Plastic bags are mistaken for jellyfish by sea turtles.
International plastic bag free day takes place annually on July 3rd. This year in Seychelles a local youth group SYAH (SIDS Youth Aims Hub – Seychelles) began a campaign to reduce and eventually eliminate single-use plastic bags from Seychelles. It’s a big project and will be an incredible achievement for them.
A debate was held, posing the question ‘Is a Seychelles free from plastic bags possible?’ and to support their campaign, our Marine Educator Jo, presented a talk entitled ‘Impacts of plastics in the ocean’ to the audience of local NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and interested participants. The talk was also covered by the local radio station and involved re-useable bag decorating where many chose to write a message about the ocean.
Good luck with the campaign and keep up the good work, SYAH!
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