How Plastic Bags Impact Animals and Other Wildlife

The Impact of Plastic Bags on Wildlife is Unintended Yet Detrimental

When plastic bags turn up in open-air landfills and the elements get a hold of them, things can spiral out of control. Since plastic bags are so lightweight they can easily be lifted by a strong gust of wind.  Once airborne, they can travel great distances until they become snagged in a tree or shrub or touch down in water where the weight of the water makes them too heavy for flight. Soon enough, plastic bags begin negatively impacting  the lives of animals and other wildlife in the area.

Plastic is a man made resource that currently is a part of life as we know it. Using plastic responsibly is key.  Managing the resource by making sure plastic is recycled, so it can be used again and again in useful and beneficial ways, is imperative.

Harm to Wildlife from Plastic Bags is Completely Avoidable

In the disturbing video above, it is easy to see the harm plastic bags can cause when not recycled. They often find their way into our oceans. In an instance like the one above, when an animal struggles to free itself, it can become so preoccupied in its efforts to get free that it may cause injury to itself or unintentionally put itself in harm’s way. The dolphin shown in the video could have easily swum into the vicinity of a predator that under normal circumstances it would know to avoid. By thrashing about it could become further tangled and make it more difficult to free itself from the plastic bag.

In this particular instance shown above, since the bag is tangled on the animal’s face, it may interfere with its ability to eat, in which case a healthy animal would suffer an agonizing and painful death. If the animal were to consume the bag the plastic could become tangled in its digestive tract, possibly blocking the system and ending its life.  There are a number of ways this situation could play out and most of the possible outcomes are not good for the dolphin and other wildlife…and remember, the plastic will not biodegrade and it will continue to cause harm to wildlife.

This situation is so upsetting because it is avoidable. If the shopper who used this bag to carry their goods home from the store had opted instead to use a reusable bag, the cycle of harm from the plastic bag could have been avoided.

Kick Your Plastic Bag Habit and You Will Help Save Our Wildlife

Nature can be brutal and the food chain needs to play out, but when humans interfere by littering animal’s habitats with our trash, we upset the balance of nature. Here at Factory Direct Promos, we feel this is simply unacceptable. Some municipalities try to increase recycling efforts to ensure disposable plastic shopping bags are properly handled and if these efforts were 100 percent successful we would have a different situation on our hands. Yet sadly, only a small percentage of disposable plastic shopping bags are ever recycled.

Banning plastic bags may seem extreme, but that is a proven and effective solution to this problem. With the availability of reusable shopping bags,  it can be very easy to kick your disposable bag habit and ensure that you are not contributing to plastic bag litter that plagues our planet and harms our wildlife.

Isn’t it worth it to use a reusable bag?

Contact Factory Direct Promos today and get started creating your customized, reusable bag for your business or organization.