How do plastic bags affect wildlife?
The real impact of plastic bag litter is felt on wildlife both in the marine environment and in rural areas. Tens of thousands of whales, birds, seals and turtles are killed every year from plastic bag litter in the marine environment as they often mistake plastic bags for food such as jellyfish. Plastic bags, once ingested, cannot be digested or passed by an animal so it stays in the gut. Plastic in an animal’s gut can prevent food digestion and can lead to a very slow and painful death. As plastic bags can take up to 1000 years to break down, once an animal dies and decays after ingesting plastic, the plastic is then freed back into the marine environment to carry on killing other wildlife. See our Effects on Wildlife page for examples of how plastic bag littler has affected wildlife.
