Plastic carrier bags cause the deaths of marine and land animals; pollute our rivers and take between 100 and 300 years to break down. 

I've seen Gannets and Fulmars on the coasts of North Yorkshire using plastic bags and plastic string to make nests for their young. I've walked the remote beaches of Scotland and collected plastic bags which have floated in on the tide. I watched Blue Planet with millions of other people and was shocked by the man made disaster I have, in my ignorance,  been partly responsible for.

And now I realise that I am very likely eating plastic.

A number of studies have shown that seafood and fish already contain plastic which they have eaten in the ocean and which now enters us as we eat them. How many minute pieces of plastic are in each of us?

No matter how careful we might be in recycling them, plastic bags are an environmental hazard and we should be reminded of that every time we raise our hands to take one.

We don't need to use plastic bags- there are alternative materials to use, such as string bags; linen tote bags or leather shoppers. These all have long, useful lives and as natural materials they can be fully recycled if and when, they need replacing.

By putting the environmental health hazard warning sign on every plastic carrier bag, we will all be reminded of the danger these bags carry for our environment. And that once out of our hands, they are likely to develop into a health hazard too. 

We are asking Michael Gove, in his role as Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to bring in legislation to make sure that every plastic carrier bag used in the United Kingdom carries the Environmental Hazard Symbol.

Josephine and Fiona