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In today’s headlines, hats off to the tiny African nation of Zanzibar for being the first country to officially ban plastic shopping bags. Other countries, from Australia to Ireland, may soon jump on the anti-plastic bag bandwagon as well. So what’s all the kafuffle about? It turns out that plastic shopping bags are incredibly harmful to wildlife, especially marine (ocean) life. Each year half a billion to one trillion shopping bags are used around the world! This is bad news for seabirds, turtles, seals, whales, and other marine creatures. These animals often mistake plastic bags as food, such as jellyfish. In 2000, a whale that was beached and died on an Australian shore was cut open. Scientists found 6 square meters of plastic in the whale’s stomach. This included large numbers of plastic shopping bags. A pelican that died from similar causes (“Pete” the pelican ate 17 shopping bags, mistaking them for a tasty treat) is now part of an exhibit in a museum that educates people about the danger plastic ocean pollution poses to wildlife.

And it’s not just marine animals that find plastic bags appealing. Cows and other land animals have been found with the bags in their stomachs too. Birds too are likely to get tangled up in plastic bags and harm themselves. Plastic bags also clog up landfills—they do not biodegrade or break down in nature for 1000 years!  

So what is the cost of using plastic shopping bags in Zanzibar? Your choice of 6 months in jail or a fine of up to $2000! Can you hear the whales cheering or what!?