On the occasion of World Turtle Day celebrated on the 23rd of May 2011, Nature Trust (Malta) said that it appeals to local organisations not to use balloons and let them free into the air in their events. Balloons end up coming down again and many end up in the sea causing both waste and also may end up in the sea and swallowed by turtles who may mistake these as jellyfish.

“Turtles have been on this planet more than man. They have been present for over 200 million years but today they are in danger of extinction. Issues like pollution, indiscriminate fishing, climate change, destruction of sandy beaches are all causing the turtles to decline all around our planet,” Nature Trust said.

Malta Trust went on to say that “In Malta most of the rescued injured turtles are found with either hooks or fishing lines or with hits from ships. Nature Trust (Malta) is presently collecting funds to start its Wildlife rehabilitation project at Xrobb L-Ghagin. Apart from other wildlife the centre will have the capacity to medicate and rehabilitate thirty turtles at a time. Next Month the Ngo also plans to launch the Adopt a Turtle campaign towards this cause.”

Public and boat owners who spot injured turtles can call the Marine Wildlife Rescue Team of Nature Trust on 9942 2085 and 9942 2086.

Last Wednesday the European Commission launched an appeal to the public on how best to reduce the use of plastic carrier bag.

The consultation also aims to gather views on the adequacy of current requirements on compostability and biodegradability in the EU Packaging Directive. The Directive doesn’t allow for a clear distinction between biodegradable products that should biodegrade in natural conditions in the environment, and compostable products that only biodegrade in industrial composting facilities. Advertising a packaging product as biodegradable when in fact it will not biodegrade in natural conditions can be misleading, and contributes to the proliferation of litter.

The consultation gathers views on the environmental, social and economic impacts that might result from measures to improve the biodegradability requirements of packaging products, including the visibility of biodegradable packaging to consumers.

The longevity of plastic bags means that there are now some 250 billion plastic particles with a combined weight of 500 tonnes floating in the Mediterranean Sea alone. These particles can cause suffocation in sea creatures that ingest them accidentally or mistake them for food. Plastics break into tiny particles, and have a high potential for contaminating soil and waterways as they may contain additives such as persistent organic pollutants.

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