Submitted by Tony Crawford
May 8, 2014 2:28 p.m.
Bag the Bag will meet at 2:00 Saturday, May 10 at Sheffield’s on Centre Street. The meeting is open to the public.
Our Publix here on the island is doing it’s share to help promote the use of re-usable bags. They are committed to cutting down the use of plastic bags. The “BAG THE BAG” committee has been working to get the word spread about how much damage plastic bags are causing our turtles, dolphins, and sea life.
There has been a lot of information put out about the environmental effects that plastic bags are having in our waters, in our landfills, and the carbon footprint they are responsible for. To sum it up is rather simple: Plastic bags are hurting our sea life. 85% of all sea turtles will be killed or injured by plastic bags. Our island has a great commitment to helping our newly hatched turtles make it from the nest to the water. Think about it… once they get there 85 % will feel the effect of a plastic bag. Not good odds. The bags are affecting all our sea life.
I know we have all been following the tragic events of Flt 370. How much have we heard about garbage floating around in the ocean. The Atlantic Ocean has one of the biggest trash patches and it is known as “The Great Atlantic Garbage Patch.” This is starting to hit close to home.
There are many recycle bins for plastic bags around the island. Between Publix, Wynn Dixie, and Harris Teeter, 4.2 million bags are given out each year right here on our island. The fact is that 90% of them never reach a recycle bin. They wind up in our landfills, blowing around the island, or in the ocean. The problem with the landfills is that they aren’t biodegradable, they hang around for hundreds of years.
It has been very encouraging to see the number of our citizens starting to use re usables. Many states and cities are placing bans on plastic bags, Hawaii being the first to ban them statewide. About 100 local governments have put bans on these bags. Many are coastal communities such as ours.
You will be seeing more and more information over the next few months with our efforts to encourage the use of re usables. Wynn Dixie and Harris Teeter are in the process of re evaluating their use of plastic. Many local business have backed this effort so far and I am sure many more will follow.
Please help, and encourage others to help in this effort. There is really no downside to this. The hardest part is remembering to take them out of your car! But this is a smart island and we can overcome that.
Agreed, I told the Manager of Winn Dixie to please put a sign on the door as you enter…saying, “Did you bring your Reusable Bag?” I would go out to my car and get mine from the front seat, if I was reminded!
This is a very worthy campaign and one which I heartily applaud. Please don’t lend fuel to any scoffers with statistics that can’t possibly be substantiated.
We aren’t “there” when every or even most turtles die and the vast majority of those very few which are found will never be taken for a necropsy so it’s nonsense to suggest that “85% of all sea turtles will be killed or injured by plastic bags”.
I’d suggest it’s more likely that styrofoam “beads” result in higher mortality. I accept that the bags might resemble scrummy jellyfish or ensnare limbs but styrofoam so closely resembles eggs and it’s far more commonplace on water.
Do bear in mind there are “plastic” bags which are, indeed, biodegradable, compostible products that are readily consumed by soil-borne micro-organisms.
It’s probable, though, that 85% of death and injury to turtles is caused by Human Activities such as fishing, propeller damage, hunting and nest destruction – and a shameful habit of dumping unspeakable things into the oceans.
Even so, don’t accept plastic bags. Actually, never buy a helium-filled novelty or send up a Chinese Lantern either. They kill. They kill livestock, domestic animals and babies, too.
Charlie,
Look, I admit I am not the brightest bulb in the sign, but I don’t just make this stuff up. If you want to look up where I got the 85% number go to http://www.wickedlocal.com. It is a site from Manchester, Mass. It seemed that this town was concerned enough to Ban plastic bags as of Apr.2nd. Before I put anything in print, rest assured I have looked at numerous articles and have done a lot of research on the topic. So it is not nonsense to suggest these facts are accurate and in line with scientific evidence. Really, in my wildest dreams I couldn’t make this stuff up.
I agree that there are some bags that are biodegradable. These, however, have little to do with the thousands of bags that our Island is handed each week at our supermarkets.
As far as any scoffers go, I’ll be honest and say I am not trying to change their minds. Everyone has a right to use or not to use plastic bags. Until there is a City or Statewide ban on them we all have the right to do as we want. There must be a pretty strong argument for this as Cities as well as States have instituted such a ban.
The goal is to get the majority of folks on board with this. There has been study after study done on the effect plastic has on our marine life and environment. I think most understandable is the simple fact that plastic is not good, and re usable bags are better.. We can argue the facts and opinions for as long as it take a Publix bag to breakdown in our local landfill, but at the end of the day it is still the same—-we need to use re usables.
As far as helium balloons and Chinese lanterns go, that I am sure is true. But last time I looked I didn’t notice thousands of balloons floating around our island each week. The best way to win the war on bettering the environment is one battle at a time.
Tony,
I hope you understand my comment wasn’t an attack upon you, personally. My Poppycock buzzer sounded the very moment I saw the 85% statistic. Not for a moment did I imagine it was plucked at random. At least, not by you.
Thank you for citing your source. I used the Search function and turned up over 400 “turtle” results but failed to find the story.
I found this: ‘ “Shrimp trawls kill more sea turtles than all other sources of mortality in U.S. waters combined,” said Marydele Donnelly, Sea Turtle Conservancy’s director of international policy.’
And they ought to know, I suppose. I still believe it’s lacking the word “probably”.
Here’s their article about plastics (I’m sure you’ll have seen it before) http://conserveturtles.org/turtleblog/blog/2014/04/11/1040/
Incidentally, I see many shiny balloons caught in trees or their saggy corpses in the water. Perhaps I’m becoming snowblind to the ubiquitous orphaned bags. The new tumbleweed.
Charlie,
The hard part is finding information that is consistent with any topic. I am sure if you watch any news station will hear the same info shared in a totally different perspective, all favoring their own agenda. I was shocked to find out we use millions of bags right here on the island each year. I really had trouble wrapping what is left of my brain around that fact. San Fransisco has even banned plastic bags. They have now banned the sale of water bottles less than 21 ounces on city property. When you think about it, turtles have the deck stacked against them. When they hatch, you hope they go towards the sea and not Fletcher. If they don’t become breakfast for some bird on the way to the sea they still have to face not only the natural predators, but also the shrimp nets, the bags, the boats. I read that only about 2% make it over the first year. Not the best odds. I know this is pretty much a uphill fight. This island has done so much with regard to beach lighting to help this issue, I really think many will get some amount of pride and satisfaction from using re usable bags. The hardest part is really remembering them. I am properly the worst offender. My trick is— should I leave them in the car and find myself at the check out counter I buy 2 new ones. I could sell them back to publix at this point. It will sink in, soon I hope, before I go broke. Charlie, thanks for the research and the conversation.
I really wish I hadn’t just typed “How green are reusab…” No. Never mind.
Will ya go to bed, Man!
There have been studies done that suggest only a small percentage of people wash the reusable bags on a regular basis. Please remember if you use these reusable bags to wash them, as they can be susceptible to unwanted bacteria and health risks, including e-coli.
That is a very good point. The thing that scares me more when It comes to germ catching is signing the swipe machine which everyone uses. I have never seen that little black pen cleaned and there has been hands on it all day. I have seen the “check out belt” cleaned many times, but never the credit card pen or keyboard. I also wonder how long it has been since our check out people have washed their hands before handling all our food and bags? How many of us take advantage of the clean Wipes and clean our cart handles before we push them around the store? Just think of all the kids whose hands have been “who knows where” helping mom shop by pushing the cart around. I have even seen kids lean over and use the handles as a big teething bar.
It would be a really good idea however to wash those reusable bags now and then.