Plastic bag facts – once and forever

arms, people in wheelchairs, for example. And we understand that those people really rely on straws – but we don't. Living straw-free is actually really simple. All that you need to do is make a decision to stop using them. It's simple! And if you must use straws, there are a lot of alternatives. For example, bamboo, stainless steel, glass and paper straws are much better than plastic ones. When you buy a drink at a take-away shop, cafe or a bar, just ask for “no plastic straw” and tell the staff member why. Ask them to use reusable straws to show their customers that they care about our planet. Remember that simple things that you can do can have a big influence.

Created in the early 1960s by a Swedish engineer with the intention to save the world – as at that time, used paper bags were causing more and more forests to be chopped down – plastic bags are now the symbol of environmental pollution. Here’s all you need to know about about the “good bags gone

bad”:

• The bags are made from various kinds of plastic, most often polyethylene and polypropylene. • Approximately one trillion bags are produced each year. • It may take up to 1 000 years for plastic bags to degenerate – in unfavourable conditions, they might never decompose at all. • The plastic bag's life is a short one: on average, they have a lifetime of 12 minutes.

• Each year, between 1 and 5 five trillion plastic bags are used and discarded all over the world.