Scientists estimate there has been a 30% drop in the proportion of plastic bags picked up by trawlers between 2010 and 2017.
The 5p charge for plastic bags in the UK has led to a large drop in the number of bags being found on the seabed.
A new study looking at the composition of marine litter found that campaigns to cut down on plastic bag use are having an effect on the seas around Britain.
The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) looked at plastic picked up by fishing vessels in the North Sea and English Channel, as well as the Celtic and Irish seas.
Scientists estimated there has been a 30% decrease in the proportion of plastic bags found in trawls from 2010 to 2017.
However, researchers found that the overall amount of litter on the seafloor has stayed the same in the last 25 years and there has been an increase in other items such as fishing debris.
Over the entire study period, 63% of the trawls contained at least one item of plastic litter.
Thomas Maes, marine litter scientist at Cefas, said: “It is encouraging to see that efforts by all of society, whether the public, industry, NGOs or government to reduce plastic bags are having an effect.
“We observed sharp declines in the percentage of plastic bags as captured by fishing nets trawling the seafloor around the UK compared to 2010 and this research suggests that by working together we can reduce, reuse and recycle to tackle the marine litter problem.”
The UK’s 5p bag levy introduced in 2015 has reduced the number of single-use bags given out by large retailers by 85%.
Friends of the Earth campaigner Julian Kirby said: “It’s great that the bag levy appears to have cut plastic bags in our seas, but much tougher action is needed if we’re to turn the tide on the huge plastic pollution crisis – including micro-plastics – swamping our marine environment.
“Measures to encourage the recycling of single-use coffee cups and plastic bottles are certainly welcome – but ultimately the government must develop an urgent action plan to phase-out all but the safest and most essential plastics.”
A reminder to reduce your use of plastic and dispose of it responsibly: Think of this endangered Loggerhead Turtle our vets have been treating. It was rescued by @WAParksWildlife & came to us for medical care, the poor turtle has been pooping out plastic ingested from the ocean!
Earlier this week, an Australian zoo released a video showing a pile of plastic next to a baby turtle that had ingested it.
The endangered Loggerhead turtle was taken to Perth Zoo’s vets for medical treatment after being rescued a few weeks ago.
While in their care, the vets found plastic in its faeces.
Source:news.sky.com
