A community action plan for a carrier bag-free world.
Every year 17 billion carrier bags are given away free in the UK - that means an average of 300 carrier bags for every man, woman and child. Plastics do not bio-degrade and scientists now estimate that plastic lasts for up to 1000 years. Every carrier bag that has ever been produced is still on the planet, in landfill, hedgerows, or floating in the sea. Plastic bag litter is lethal, killing over 100,000 seabirds, dolphins, seals, whales and turtles every year.
But worldwide people are rallying: in Bangladesh and Taiwan carrier bags have been banned; China has announced it will soon do the same. Ireland introduced a 15p levy on plastic bags which has led to a 90% reduction in their use. Marks & Spencer has introduced a similar charge.
In May 2007 Modbury in Devon became Britain's first plastic bag-free town. This book takes the Modbury story and uses it as a call to action, entreating every village, town and city in the country to follow its example and ban the plastic bag.
Written by Rebecca Hosking
