The Problem of Plastic Bags


Plastic bags litter the landscape. Once they are used, most plastic
bags go into landfill, or rubbish tips. Each year more and more plastic
bags are ending up littering the environment. Once they become litter,
plastic bags find their way into our waterways, parks, beaches, and
streets. And, if they are burned, they infuse the air with toxic fumes.

Plastic bags kill animals. About 100,000 animals such as dolphins,
turtles whales, penguins are killed every year due to plastic bags.
Many animals ingest plastic bags, mistaking them for food, and
therefore die. And worse, the ingested plastic bag remains intact even
after the death and decomposition of the animal. Thus, it lies around in
the landscape where another
victim may ingest it.

Plastic Bag Pollution:

It may seem like a trivial thing, but those “free” plastic bags we get at
the grocers, department stores and restaurants are actually
contributing to a world wide pandemic of plastics waste. Only 1-4% of
the 19 billion plastic grocery and merchandise bags used annually in
the State are recycled. That means that nearly 600 bags per second
are discarded–destined either for the landfill or our marine
environment.

Petroleum

Is required to produce plastic bags. As it is, petroleum products are
diminishing and getting more expensive by the day, since we have
been using this non-renewable resource increasingly. Petroleum is
vital for our modern way of life. It is necessary for our energy
requirements – for our factories, transport, heating, lighting, and so
on. Without viable alternative sources of energy yet on the horizon, if
the supply of petroleum were to be turned off, it would lead to
practically the whole world grinding to a halt. Surely, this precious
resource should not be wasted on producing plastic bags, should it?

Dangers to Sea Life

Plastic bags are now amongst the top 12 items of debris most often
found along coastlines ranging from Spitzbergen in the north to the
Falklands in the south.

Animals and sea creatures are hurt and killed every day by discarded
plastic bags - a dead turtle with a plastic bag hanging from its mouth
isn't a pleasant sight but mistaking plastic bags for food is
commonplace amongst marine animals. Plastic clogs their intestines
and leads to slow starvation. Others become entangled in plastic bags
and drown.

Because plastic bags take hundreds of years to break down, every
year our seas become 'home' to more and more bags that find their
way there through our sewers and waterways. Every bag that's
washed down a drain during rainfall ends up in the sea - every bag
that's flushed down a toilet (many small bags are), ends up in the sea
- every bag that's blown into a river will most likely end up in the sea.

Add to that the enormous amounts of energy that's used every year in
order to manufacture these bags and it's no surprise that pressure is
being put on governments to make changes and consumers to re-think
their attitudes.
" 'USGBC' and related logo is
a trademark owned by the
U.S. Green Building Council
and is used by permission."
Saving the world - one plastic bag at a time
Plastic bags are non-biodegradable. And one of the worst environmental effects of plastic bags is that they are
non-biodegradable. The decomposition of plastic bags takes about 1000 years.