Our Mission
Our mission is to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags in the town of Wimborne Minster, Dorset.
Following in the footsteps of other towns in the UK such as Modbury, Hebden Bridge, Brighton & Hove and Saltash, we would like to stop the use of carrier bags in Wimborne Minster. Our initial aim is to "reduce the use" with a hope that when shoppers and traders see how easy it is to shop without them, we can stop using them altogether.
To do this we will be encouraging shoppers to bring their own bags with them when they visit Wimborne, and asking the traders to supply only cornstarch or paper carrier bags in their shops.
There are so many reasons for trying to break the habit we have all become accustomed to by using plastic carriers, but here are just a few:
- On average we each use 300 carrier bags per year.
- Each carrier bag will last in our environment for up to 450 to 1000 years.
- So using me as an example: in my life time so far (32 years) I have used 9600 carrier bags, which will not leave our environment until at least the year 2425.
- Plastic bags do not biodegrade, the photo degrade, which means they break into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil, waterways, oceans and entering the food web when ingested by animals, which are then in turn ingested by humans.
- In our oceans studies have shown that in 2001 there was 6 times more plastic in the water tested than plankton, and in 2006 the level of plastic particles found had increased by 200%. It is believed that the levels will increase by 100% every 3 years.
- Its estimated that over 1 million seabirds choke or get tangled in plastic debris every year, and about 100,000 seals, sea lions, whales, dolphins, other marine mammals and sea turtles suffer the same fate, although some scientists believe this figure to be much higher.
These are just a few facts about how harmful plastic is to our environment. If we all make the effort to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags, we will be taking a small step to slow down the abuse we are inflicting on our planet.
Please help Wimborne Minster become plastic bag free.