Threat to wildlife of plastic carrier bags

Added: 18/03/2008
Category: South Norfolk Council

Plastic carrier bags kill wildlife, and we should all make an effort to stop using them.

That’s the blunt message from South Norfolk Countryside Rangers, who are urging residents and retailers to support the Council’s Say No to Plastic Bags campaign.

Head Ranger Steve Hammond praised the campaign, launched last December by Council Chairman Joe Mooney.

He and his colleagues have seen the damage done to wildlife by litter and plastic carrier bags, and have had to deal with wildlife killed and injured in this way

He said:

“Someone will throw away a sandwich in a plastic shopping bag, and an animal or a bird will scavenge the food. They can ingest part of that bag and once it gets trapped in the animal or bird’s throat, they can face an agonising death.

“Bags are also thrown into our rivers or they blow into ponds where swans feed under water. It is not difficult for a swan to get a plastic bag wrapped around its neck. And as it pulls back out of water, the bag could snag on a root or tree branch, and that could lead to a fatality”

An image of two swans fighting over the tatters of a plastic carrier bag has been chosen by Councillor Mooney to illustrate the dangers, and to help drive home the message behind the aims of the Say No to Plastic Bags campaign.

The image is now being used on the Council website home page to launch its campaign page.

The website, which gets over 20,000 hits a week, features information on alternatives to plastic carrier bags, space for residents pictures illustrating the bags menace and will soon list the names of businesses and others who have gone plastic bag free.

Councillor Joe Mooney said:

“I make no apologies for using an image like this to remind people of the threat to wildlife. It is disturbing because you do not need much of an imagination to guess what could happen once the plastic tears in two.

“I urge residents and retailers to go to the website, read about the alternatives to these bags, let us know your stories and send us your pictures of plastic bags that you may have seen scattered around our district.

“Since the start of the campaign I have seen more and more people using the environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic bags.

"This indicates that the campaign’s key message is been listened to and I am pleased that South Norfolk residents and retailers are beginning to say No to plastic bags.”

Councillor Mooney is now preparing plans to award certificates to businesses in the community, which go plastic bag free.

In the meantime, local councillors are busy delivering the information pack to businesses throughout South Norfolk.

The website address is www.south-norfolk.gov.uk