Local AM Paul Davies recently attended the Marine Conservation Society "grab a bag for life" event at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay. The event, aimed at raising awareness of the threats posed by plastic bags to the marine environment, issued National Assembly members with bags for life as a thank you for the recent introduction of a Carrier Bag levy in Wales. The Marine Conservation Society beach-watch survey 2010, showed a massive 7,273 bags on 376 beaches surveyed over just one weekend. This is an average of 43 plastic bags per kilometre of beach surveyed, highlighting the scale of the problem with irresponsible disposal of plastics bags and the extent of the dangers such hazardous materials pose to marine plant and wildlife.

Paul Davies, Assembly Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire, was particularly keen to attend the event in light of the importance of the marine environment in his largely coastal constituency.

Commenting at the event Mr Davies said; "This is a great opportunity to remind people of the bag for life campaign and the detrimental impact the use and disposal of plastic bags can have for the environment. I would urge everyone in my constituency to purchase a bag for life from their local stores and help to protect the beautiful coastal environment we enjoy here in Pembrokeshire. We are fortunate enough to have great beaches in Pembrokeshire and it is important that we do all that we can to protect them."