Save our Seas (SOS)

Images of our marine creatures on beaches, covered in oil, strangled in nets or choked on rubbish are all too common. Then there is our reef, especially the Great Barrier Reef, dying as the world is warming up.

We as humans can do something daily to stop this, it just takes a bit of pre-thought. It can be as simple as not using plastic bags when you go shopping. Use the green bags, it is better as they carry more and it means our turtles won't eat them when they float in our ocean looking like their favourite source of food, being jelly fish.

And put it in a bin. Rubbish on the street ends up in our oceans so use a bin or throw it in your pocket. Smokers need to use ashtrays as cigarette butts are the worst for our marine life.

I once saw a turtle that had a plastic bag for a stomach. It had formed perfectly in its stomach that the opening was at it's throat and no product was able to get to the digestive system. The turtle starved to death. The contents of that bag included 12 cigarette butts, a bottle cap and part of a coke can.

Sea Turtles Don't Shop!

Over 100,000 marine animals DIE every year
from PLASTIC entanglement!

The problem

Plastic bags are:

Made from petroleum, a nonrenewable resource.
A serious litter problem since they are lightweight and hard to contain (blow around).
Non-biodegradable, breaking into smaller particles BUT never fully disappearing.
Mistaken for food by marine animals (particularly sea turtles).
One of the most numerous items of litter along with cigarette butts and Styrofoam.
A major part of waste in our landfills.

"I'm the problem, I'm the solution"

It's a global thing!

Other countries are ahead of the Australia in finding ways to reduce the impact of plastic bags on the environment!

Bangladesh :
Polythene plastic bags have been banned completely - the government is promoting bags made of jute, a natural fiber.

Ireland :
Individual consumers are required to pay a 15c tax per plastic bag - this has resulted in an estimated 90% reduction in plastic bag use in the first year.

The European Union:
Member countries require manufacturers/producers of plastic bags and other plastic waste to take them back and recycle them.

Taiwan and South Africa :
Both countries prohibit the thinner plastic bags - this encourages people to bring their own bags since retailers can't afford to provide the more expensive, thicker plastic bags for free.

The leatherback turtle can keep itself warm in cold water, dive over 1000 meters below sea level, travel thousands of miles and gulp down a Portuguese man-of-war but is threatened by the inert plastic shopping bag" - Mrosovky, N. 1987.