Helped by floating robots, UN-backed research ship scours Indian Ocean for plastic waste. An estimated 5 trillion pieces of plastic currently float in the world's oceans

 UN, 14 August 2015 – The United Nations is supporting a project aiming to chart the impact of plastic waste, including garbage like plastic bags, and ‘microplastics’ used in products such as cosmetics and shower gels, in the Indian Ocean, underscoring the risk of dramatic upheavals in marine ecosystems even in one of the world's least-known and least-visited environments.

Τέρμα οι δωρεάν πλαστικές σακούλες στα souper market από το 2018 (Κύπρος)

Κύπρος: Από το 2018 καμία πλαστική σακούλα δεν θα παρέχεται δωρεάν στα souper market με ευρωπαϊκή οδηγία την οποία μελετά η Επιτροπή Περιβάλλοντος της Βουλής.

Reducing use of plastic bags: MEPs strike deal with Council Presidency

EU countries would have to reduce the use of the commonest and most polluting plastic carrier bags, under draft rules informally agreed between MEPs and the Italian Presidency of the Council on Monday and confirmed by the member states’ permanent representatives on Friday. Plastic carrier bag litter is a major environmental problem, as it is known to pollute bodies of water and aquatic eco-systems in particular.

Plastic waste causes $13 billion in annual damage to marine ecosystems, says UN agency

UN, 23 June 2014 – Concern is growing over widespread plastic waste that is threatening marine life – with conservative yearly estimates of $13 billion in financial damage to marine ecosystems, according to two reports issued at the inaugural meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly.
“Plastic contamination threatens marine life, tourism, fisheries and businesses,” underscores the eleventh edition of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Year Book, which updates 10 issues previously highlighted over the past decade and provides mitigation steps for each.

No more plastic bags polluting our environment. - Should gradually be replaced by biodegradable and compostable bags

Life in plastic is not so fantastic after all. Plastic bags have been blamed for polluting the environment, especially aquatic ecosystems. In April MEPs voted in favour of halving the consumption of lightweight plastic bags by 2017 and reducing it by 80% by 2019 compared to 2010 levels. The topic of last month's guest photographer contest was plastic bags. The winning photo illustrates this article.

The scale of the problem

In 2010 there were 200 bags for everyone who lived in the EU, according to an estimate by the EP's library research service.