Call to get rid of plastic bags, balloons

Environmental organisation Let’s Make Cyprus Green is calling on the public to help ban unnecessary and harmful plastic by signing two petitions, Ban Balloons in Cyprus and Ban All Single-Use Plastic Carrier Bags in Cyprus.

The signatures will be presented to the government to support the organisation’s plea for the ban.

“A few cents extra to purchase a plastic bag simply isn’t enough,” Let’s Make Cyprus Green said. “Yes, we have seen a reduction in their use, which is excellent, but if there is anything else that this ‘ban’ has taught us, it is that people can live without plastic carrier bags. So, why not take it one step further by banning all single-use plastic carrier bags entirely?”

Regarding balloons, which are often released during celebrations, the organisation has this to say: “What goes up, must come down – and when it lands, the consequences can be deadly for wildlife and contribute to ocean pollution.”

As people can live without plastic bags, there can also be celebrations without balloons.

Those who would like to sign the petitions can do so here  https://www.letsmakecyprusgreen.com/petitions/#

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.