Since 5 October 2015, large retailers in England have been required by law to charge 5p for all single-use plastic carrier bags. DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) reports that “Our data indicates that the 7 main retailers issued around 83% fewer bags (over 6 billion bags fewer) in 2016 to 2017 compared to the calendar year 2014. This would be equivalent to each person in the population using around 25 bags during 2016 to 2017, compared to around 140 bags a year before the charge”.  Whilst this is great progress it isn’t enough –

It is still the case that:

160,000 plastic bags are used globally every second!

5 trillion plastic bags are produced yearly. Side by side, they can encircle the world 7 times.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is a floating landfill of garbage in the Pacific twice the size of Texas, is mostly composed of plastic.

In 2008, a sperm whale was found beached in California. It died due to the more than 22 kilos of plastic found in its stomach.

Plastic will only start degrading after 700 years and will only fully degrade in 1000 years. This means that all the plastic that has ever been produced has not degraded yet.

Plastic bags remain toxic even after it breaks down. It doesn’t biodegrade, it photo-degrades. It means that after it degrades, it breaks down into smaller and smaller toxic bits of itself – and bleeds and contaminates the environment.

Plastic bags cause the death of many marine animals when they are mistaken for food.

In the North Pacific Ocean, there are 6x more plastic debris than plankton.

Plastic bags are produced using petroleum, natural gas and other chemicals. Its production is also toxic to the environment.

A recent survey by Plymouth University found that plastic was found in a third of UK-caught fish, including cod, haddock, mackerel and shellfish. This can result in malnutrition or starvation for the fish, and lead to plastic ingestion in humans too. The effect on humans of eating fish containing plastic is still largely unknown.

Friends of the Earth CEO Craig Bennett said: “A 25 year plan is clearly needed — but with the nation facing an accelerating environmental crisis we can’t afford to wait a quarter of a century for urgent action to tackle the issues that already threaten our lives, health, and planet.”

We here at Earthnest decided to initiate a mission that helps meet this challenge. We have discovered an answer to single-utilise plastic packs by creating our Bio Bags which are 100% plastic free and are made totally from vegetable starch and other regular concentrates. These sacks are safe to the plants, creatures and the planet;

• Contains no polyolefin plastic and made from all-natural extracts
• Biodegradable and Compostable in nature
• Oxygen barrier
• Natural antistatic properties
• Oil resistant
• Recyclable with paper
• Dissolvable in high temperature water (>80C)
• Safe if accidentally consumed by animals.

Together we can make a difference, let’s remove single use plastic carrier bags completely and help the planet recover.