article_snippet: The incident is a stark illustration of the damage humans are doing to the environment by dumping millions of tons of plastic rubbish into our oceans.
article_snippet: Recent studies estimate 8million tons of bags, bottles, toys and other rubbish ends up in the seas each year – affecting up to 400 different marine species, many of to 400 different marine species endangered.
article_snippet: The Daily Mail has been campaigning since 2008 for tougher action to reduce plastic bag waste.
article_snippet: A major victory in the Banish the Bags campaign came in June last year when a 5p charge for plastic bags was announced in England.
article_snippet: The charge, which will be introduced by October, is expected to reduce bag use by up to 80 per cent and raise up to £100million a year for good causes.