Salon.com: “Plastic bags are killing us”

This year we picked up more than 14,000 bags on the shores!
“Plastic bags are killing us,” by Katharine Mieszkowski. Salon.com, 10 Aug 2007. The most ubiquitous consumer item on Earth, the lowly plastic bag is an environmental scourge like none other, sapping the life out of our oceans and thwarting our attempts to recycle it.

“The plastic bag is an icon of convenience culture, by some estimates the single most ubiquitous consumer item on Earth, numbering in the trillions. They’re made from petroleum or natural gas with all the attendant environmental impacts of harvesting fossil fuels. One recent study found that the inks and colorants used on some bags contain lead, a toxin. Every year, Americans throw away some 100 billion plastic bags after they’ve been used to transport a prescription home from the drugstore or a quart of milk from the grocery store. It’s equivalent to dumping nearly 12 million barrels of oil.”

Read the complete article at salon.com

In Singapore, see also:

• “Say no to plastic bags.” By Lee U-Wen. Today, 18 Apr 2007.
• “Plastic bags needed, but reduce dependence.” Letter by Liang Xinyi. The Straits Times Forum, 25 May 2007.

“Ocean Conservancy and Dedicated Volunteers Hold Successful International Coastal Cleanup for 22nd Consecutive Year”

Generous volunteers from around the world clean up waterways and shorelines; our responsibility for a clean ocean continues year-round

Washington, DC, 17 Sep 2007 — Ocean Conservancy declares the 22nd annual International Coastal Cleanup held on Saturday, September 15th a tremendous success.

Ocean Conservancy extends an immense thank you to all of the enthusiastic volunteers and coordinators who have made the ocean, waterways, and lakes cleaner and safer for people and wildlife. Volunteers can be proud to have played a critical role in the world’s largest single-day volunteer effort to improve the health of the ocean and its wildlife.

In addition to cleaning up waterways and beaches, volunteers collected important data on the types, quantity and location of marine debris that will lead to an ongoing effort to prevent marine debris through education and outreach all year.

“Our volunteers are the heart and soul of this amazing clean-up effort and we are grateful to them for their year-round dedication to help heal our oceans,” said Laura Capps, Senior Vice President with Ocean Conservancy. “The next official Ocean Conservancy cleanup may be a year away, but the responsibility to be better stewards of our environment is something we share everyday. We’re all connected to the ocean and the decisions we make even miles away from the shore have a real impact on the health of our ocean and on our planet.”

The data collected on Saturday’s cleanup including the number of volunteers, pounds of trash collected, miles cleaned and a breakdown of what was found will be available in early 2008. Thank you again to all volunteers for the generous support and dedication for the 2007 International Coastal Cleanup.

Read about the brief history of the cleanup – Singapore’s cleanup is in its 16th year.

Results for Singapore are available here.