Why you should use degradable bags

Wikaniko Turtle Bags

There has been a lot of press in recent times about plastic bags and the damage they

are doing. All of this publicity is great, because it makes our job that much easier!

The reason we decided to offer Turtle bags was that we really liked their message and

they had a great solution. The Turtle bags are great value, they are made from strong

but soft cotton and are surprisingly large and roomy, yet because they are soft netting

compress for storage until they are tiny (or we supply them in their own handy storage

"pocket"). They can be used over and over and over again, and because their handles are

a nice thickness and soft they are 100 x more comfortable to carry than plastic bags,

even when they are really full. You are also safe in the knowledge of knowing that all

your shopping wonÔt fall out of the bottom!

We have 5 different species of turtle visiting our UK waters. The one you are most

likely to come across is the Leatherback turtle. The Leatherback turtles (the largest of

the marine turtles) swim to the UK from tropical nesting beaches for jellyfish, usually

between August and October. These great animals have been around for 100 million

years.

Turtles are mistaking upturned plastic bags for their favourite food, jellyfish, with

deadly results. Turtle Bags seeks to promote alternatives to plastic bags and reducing

plastic pollution

Sadly, mistaking polythene bags for jellyfish has caused many deaths of Leatherback

turtles. A discarded bag fills with water and floats, semi-submerged on the water's

surface. To a turtle this looks just like a jellyfish and is swallowed with terrible

consequences, usually resulting in death for the turtle as the bag either twists in its gut

or blocks digestion.

The plastic bag is highly over-specified for the job for which it was designed. Required

to serve us for the hour or so that it takes us to get our shopping home, instead it is

expected that the bags will last for hundreds of years. The hazards of the plastic bag

do not stop with the turtles. Plastic is never fully degrade; plastic bags eventually turn

into plastic "dust" which can still be ingested by filter feeding marine animals. Plastic is

highly toxic, and toxins in filter feeders are passed up the food chain to the fish and

ultimately human consumers.

So once again it all comes back full circle, by doing something for the greater good, we

really are ultimately helping ourselves.

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