3 million per day!

From Envir0nment Massachusetts:

Our ocean wildlife is seriously threatened by plastic bag pollution.

Every year, more than 1 billion marine animals worldwide are killed by plastic bags. [1] Green turtles nesting on Nantucket; right whales breeching off our coast; seabirds looking for a treat — all of these animals can suffer painful deaths because of our plastic pollution.

In Massachusetts alone, we use over 3 million plastic bags at grocery and retail stores every day, and many of these bags make their way into our ocean.[2] We use plastic bags for a few minutes, and then they last in our environment for hundreds of years.

We have a chance to win a statewide ban on plastic bags this year, but we need to act by Friday to build support on Beacon Hill. Will you e-mail your senator and representative, and ask them to support a plastic bag ban?

Communities up and down the coast — from North Carolina, to Washington, D.C., to Connecticut — are taking action to reduce and eliminate plastic bags, cutting their pollution and protecting their marine life. It’s time for Massachusetts to get on board.

Winning a ban won't be easy — big chemical companies that make all those plastic bags hate the idea of banning them, and have put lots of resources into fighting other bans across the country.

We’re up to the challenge. In the coming months, Environment Massachusetts will be working in cities and towns across the state to get communities involved so we can show our elected officials that we’re ready to ban the bag. That’s why we need you.

Tell your senator and representative that Massachusetts is ready to ban the bag.

Massachusetts has always been a leader when it comes to protecting our environment. It's time for us to protect our marine life better by getting on board with a plastic bag ban. Stand up for our coastal life by e-mailing your senator and representative today.

Sincerely,


Ben Wright
Environment Massachusetts Advocate


[1] United Nations Development Program.
[2] "2009 Annual Report," Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Jan. 2010.