Refuse-to-Use Poster Contest: Information to help you research the problem with plastic bags
Plastic bags are an accepted part of Canada’s shopping culture, but they shouldn’t be. Each year in Canada we use over 9 billion plastic shopping bags. Below you will find suggested links for further information, including a humorous ‘youtube’ video approach to the problem, links to recent on-going research, as well as a pdf of key 10 things to consider about plastic bags. You may also wish to explore other sources of information, for example what information do recycling and waste management organizations provide about recycling options for various plastics, etc.
1. Here are 10 key things to consider about plastic bags: The Problem with Plastic Bags We thank Greener Footprints and Taronga Zoo for permission to use the photos and some information in this document. On the Greener Footprints website one can also view an inspiring video about the successful campaign to ban plastic bags in Rossland, B.C.
2. If you want a humorous approach to explain a serious problem, watch a 4-minute youtube video ‘The Majestic Plastic Bag: A Mockumentary’ produced by Heal the Bay, as part of a campaign to ban plastic bags in California: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLgh9h2ePYw
3. An excellent slide show of the Dangers of Plastic Bags:
4. A link to the Canadian Wildlife Federation re. leather back turtles and plastic bags:
5. A link to recent Canadian research on the effects of plastic pollution on arctic birds the thick-billed murre and the northern fulmar presented by an Ottawa student, in collaboration with Environment Canada, at the International Polar Year conference last year in Montreal:
Written abstract: http://132.246.11.198/2012-ipy/Abstracts_On_the_Web/pdf/ipy2012arAbstract00252.pdf
6. A link to an article about on-going research on ‘microplastics’ in the Great Lakes:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=microplastic-pollution-in-the-great-lakes&page=2 Scientist, Dr. Shari Mason of the State University of New York, Fredonia co-authored the soon to be published “Microplastic Pollution in the Surface Waters of the Laurentian Great Lakes” based on her findings for Lakes Huron, Superior and Erie. Data on Lake Ontario collected last year is still being analyzed. Much of the microplastic pollution likely originate from cosmetics, the authors say, while some may be from other sources such as plastic film. The origin of ocean plastic film is difficult to determine; it could be from plastic bags or other plastic. What is certain, Mason told MVFN is that much of the beach debris she sees is from plastic bags.
