Tuesday 21 June 2005

Numerous independent scientific studies have shown high concentrations of plastic material, including bags, blocking the guts of 177 marine species, including whales, dolphins, seals, puffins, fulmars and turtles. Some marine species, such as the endangered leatherback turtle, summer visitor to Scottish waters, mistake plastic bags for their normal prey of jelly fish, with deadly results. Many marine species are now affected by the minute toxic particles that plastic items, including bags, are reduced to by photodegradation, leading to a weakening of their immune system.

A rare Cuviers Beaked Whale was washed up dead on Mull last year, its gut completely blocked by compacted bags. In 1998, a leatherback turtle, a species on the IUCN's endangered Red List, was found dead in Galloway with 57kg of plastic bags obstructing its innards. In April 2002, a dead Minke whale in Normandy had 800kg of plastic bags, including UK supermarket bags, in its stomach. The list goes on.

"Last year a total of 5,592 plastic bags were recorded during the MCS Beachwatch survey – that's 2% of all beach litter or one for every 38m of beach surveyed. Mike Pringle's proposed Bill, as supported by LINK since 2003, will certainly reduce the number of windblown plastic bags and play an important role in reducing the impact of discarded litter on Scotland's marine wildlife and habitats," said Calum Duncan, Marine Conservation Society Scottish Officer and Convener of the Scottish Environment LINK Marine Task Force.

Laura Bateson of WWF Scotland and Scottish Wildlife Trust added "Plastic bags are a real and tragic threat to marine life and it's deeply disturbing to think of the suffering these wild animals face. By reducing the amount of plastic bags that we use and discard in Scotland we can make a real difference in protecting vulnerable marine animals, many of which already face enormous pressures from pollution, shipping and fishing."

Although plastic bags are sometimes only a small component of street litter this is due to their mobility. Instead of remaining where dropped, they are blown into trees, hedges, or washed straight into the sewerage system, or into waterways - to end up on beaches and in the marine environment.