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Plastic as we know it has been around since the 1930’s although records show that plastics were being developed as far back as the early 1830’s.
It is now so widely used for many varied applications that it is actually difficult to go a day without using this material. Whether it is your drinking bottle, the wrapping on your sandwich or the chair you are sitting on, most of us will use some form of plastic every day.
Fortunately people are now beginning to notice that this incredibly versatile material may not be as wonderful as it was once thought to be, especially where the environment is concerned. There has been a great deal of press on the dangers of plastic on the environment. Such as the 2 man team who recently sailed from California to Hawaii on a boat made from 15,000 plastic bottles (all of which stayed in good condition, proving how hard they are to destroy). This challenge was taken to highlight the huge volumes of plastic waste currently floating in our oceans. In fact, the UN Environment Programme estimates that there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean on Earth. And it is estimated that plastic bags kill a million sea creatures every year.
There is also the BBC reporter who tried to live plastic free for a month and found it almost impossible to do so.
It is a danger to the environment at all stages of its lifespan – not only is it made from petroleum based products and so causes pollution during manufacture, it is also polluting once it is no longer required. It is usually disposed of by burying in landfill sites or burning, both of which are harmful to the environment. It is also a major litter problem. You will often find bags blowing in the trees and objects stuck in drains. And it is estimated that some plastics could take hundreds even thousands of years to degrade, if they ever do at all and if they do degrade it’s in to small toxic pieces that contaminate the land and the sea.
Recycling plastic is one way to help reduce the waste however the best way to deal with the plastic problem is to dramatically reduce its use or cut it out completely.
These are some of the reasons why The Pearl-Qatar has approved the policy stating that no retailer operating on the Island can give customer’s a plastic bag. Shoppers will either buy a degradable or reusable bag or bring their own reusable bags with them.
We know that it is possible to implement this as many countries have already banned the plastic bag including Bangladesh and Rowanda. In China and Ireland you are no longer given free bags with your shopping. And Canada, Western Indian, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Taiwan and Singapore have also banned or will soon ban the plastic bag.
It may take some time before everyone is aware of this and understands the reasons behind it however we know that it can be done and we know how it will benefit the environment, the wildlife and marine animals.
So please help us keep The Pearl-Qatar plastic bag free and don’t bring them with you when you visit the Island.
Thank you for helping to protect The Pearl-Qatar. | 
