International Plastic Bag Free Day
#PlasticBagFreeDay
International Plastic Bag Free Day is an annual event that takes place on July 3 and aims to encourage people to reduce their use of plastic bags. It was initiated in 2009 by the Bag Free World organization to promote environmental conservation and eliminate single-use plastic bags worldwide. By 2030, the movement had grown to over 6,500 individuals and over 2,400 organizations.
Polyethylene plastic bags were first seen in 1965 in Europe. They quickly replaced cloth and plastic, and the market expanded to America. By 1997, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was discovered, a 1.6 million square kilometre floating mass of plastic and garbage. Today, this garbage patch continues to grow, and it is estimated that by 2050, the mass of ocean garbage from plastic will outweigh its fish.
The amount of plastic pollution entering our oceans is negatively impacting the marine ecosystem. Animal species are ingesting plastic particles and becoming entangled in them. Furthermore, the plastic particles in the oceans attract toxins, affecting humans as the toxins enter the food chain. Plastic bag production, transportation and disposal contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. When disposed of, plastic bags release methane, which makes its way into the atmosphere and contributes to climate change. For these reasons, International Plastic Bag Free Day is important to raise awareness about these issues and discourage the use of plastic bags.
Many cities and countries worldwide are imposing bans and taxes on the use of plastic bags and single-use plastic. In California, the ban on thin plastic bags resulted in a 71.5% reduction in consumption. In many instances where plastic bags are still available, they are offered to customers at a cost.
You can take action on International Plastic Bag Free Day in many ways and help minimize the impact on our planet and environment.
How to celebrate:
- Stop using plastic bags
- Reuse and recycle any plastic bags you have at home
- Opt for reusable bags when shopping
- Volunteer at a local beach or park cleanup
- Watch a documentary on single-use plastics like “A Plastic Ocean” or “Bag It.”
- Research sustainable alternatives and methods to lead a more environmentally friendly lifestyle that is free from plastic
- Support businesses that avoid plastic bag use
- Get involved in local or national campaigns to advocate for stronger policies on plastic bag reduction.
- Reduce single-use plastic usage in other areas.
Fun Facts:
- It takes over 700 years for single-use plastic to begin decomposing and 1000 years to degrade completely.
- Over 5 trillion plastic bags are produced annually
- The average person uses a plastic bag for 25 minutes
- 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.
- Only 1-3% of plastic bags are recycled worldwide.
- If just one person switched to recycled bags over their lifetime, they would remove 22,000 plastic bags from the environment.
