One of the biggest issues facing our oceans and coasts is pollution. An estimated 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic entered the ocean in 2010 from people living within 50 kilometres of the coast in 192 countries.

Plastic pollution has a direct effect on coastal and marine wildlife, and thousands of marine animals are killed each year as they mistake floating plastics for food or they become entangled in it. Plastic ingestion has been documented from small fish to sea birds and large mammals.

Plastics clog waterways, and end up in landfills where they may take many decades to thousands of years to break down into smaller particles that continue to pollute the environment.

The world is taking action against the problem of plastic bags, and the list of countries and states banning plastic bags and introducing plastic bag charges is growing. New Zealand can be a part of the growing global community phasing out plastic bags.

We can have a Plastic Bag Free New Zealand.

References:

1) Science 13 February 2015: Vol. 347 no. 6223 pp. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768.abstract

2) http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/marinelitter/publications/docs/plastic_ocean_report.pdf

3) http://www.mfe.govt.nz/waste/types-waste/plastic-bags

4) https://www.facebook.com/plasticbagfreenz