Attention members of Surfrider Foundation Eastern Long Island chapter:
The town of Southampton is considering a ban on plastic bags. Your help is needed in helping this cause along. There is a public hearing on the topic in April. Please come and speak out in favor of the ban on plastic bags.
Who: Village of Southampton Trustees
When: April 14th, 2011. 6pm
Where: 23 Main Street, Southampton, NY 11968
If you cannot make it to this meeting, please write a letter so that it gets there before the hearing. The letters can be sent to the Mayor of Southampton Village
Mayor Mark Epley
Village of Southampton
23 Main Street
Southampton, NY 11968
Villag
Every hour, approximately 200,000 plastic bags are land filled and may take 1,000 years to break down. For the plastic bags that become litter, rain washes them into bodies of water where they threaten the lives of avian and marine species that can die from consuming or choking on the bags. Plastic pollution travels through our local waterways, eventually reaching the global oceans. On average, 46,000 pieces of plastic are swirling in each square mile of our oceans.
The proliferation of plastic waste endangers fish and wildlife. A 2005 study found that almost 200 species of marine life are adversely affected by plastic bag pollution. Tens of thousands of whales, birds, seals, and turtles are killed annually from plastic bags. Fish and wildlife mortalities are caused by:
* Strangulation
* Restricting mobility
* Disrupting digestion
Marine animals often mistake plastic bags for food, such as jellyfish. Once eaten, the bags cannot be processed and block the digestive system, making it very difficult for animals to get proper nutrition, and can lead to a slow and painful death from starvation or dehydration. To make matters worse, when the creature dies and decomposes, the plastic bags will be re-released into the environment.
If you want to help stop the seemingly endless supply of these bags, please be at this hearing or write a letter.
thank you,
Surfrider Foundation Eastern Long Island Chapter