Plastic bags are often criticized for polluting the environment, and especially the ocean. Isatou ceesay and the recycling women of the gambia was released on february 1, 2015. The environmental impact of plastic bags in landfill is likely to be low due to their inert nature. Comparison of environmental impact of plastic, paper and cloth bags. Plastic is popularly used for small items such as toys and grocery or trash bags. Plastic bag surfrider foundation public file repository. In addition, the study focuses on answering the question if the idea of substituting plastic bags by jute. The disadvantages of using plastic products sciencing. In september, british prime minister david cameron called on supermarkets to reduce usage of plastic bagsor prepare for national. Plastic bags may take between 20 and years to break down in the environment. It cost more to recycle a bag than to produce a new one.
Plastic bags affect many people, not only the consumers but plastic bags also affects the environment and animals. Number 6011, december 2011 is a ban the best way to. You probably already use several of our tips, like lining trash cans or taking them with you when you walk your dog, but we have many. Consumes very little electricity to produce can be manufactured cheaply and in huge quantities incredibly strong relative to its weight. There are various ways on how plastic bags can harm the health of humans and the entire environment. Danes use very few lightweight singleuse plastic bags. Plastic bags are 100% recyclable, reusable, made from natural gas, not oil, and a sustainable choice for consumers, communities and businesses.
The oldest existing plastic bag tax is in denmark, passed in. Two major methods that release toxic chemicals of plastic bags are by burning and throwing. Littered plastic bags are everywhere today blown around streets, stuck in fences and trees. The major impact of plastic bags in disposal is not their effect on the actual landfill, but in litter emanating from the site.
Banning plastic bags would alleviate these problems. As stated above, plastic is burned to create electriciy, hence, we could use plastic to make plastic, and reduce. Socio economic impact assessment of the proposed plastic. When heavy items, such as canned foods or bottles, are placed in the bag, the handles are more likely to break. In developed societies, plastic bags are discarded in landfills where they take up a significant portion of landfill space. Plastic bags are not only environmentally detrimental, but they also take up space. Pertaining to the rest of the electricity needed to make plastic bags, coal fire does pollute. This study focuses on the toxic effects of plastic on human health and. Five months later, on the 7th of january 2009, it ordered a complete ban on the use of all plastic bags within market areas. Feedstock comes from fossil fuels a nonrenewable r. In the journal, april 25, page 2021, there is a note concerning the hazards of discarded plastic garment bags. China, which banned many types of plastic bags in 2008, claims some successes.
Using plastic bags and its damaging impact on environment and agriculture conference paper pdf available december 2011 with 17,227 reads how we measure reads. Creative ways to reuse plastic grocery bags more than 50 tips. Socioeconomic impact assessment of the proposed plastic bag regulations 5 fridge a key characteristic of this bag is that it does not have carry handles. Plastic bags cause a significant amount of global environmental damage. Plastic bags are also flimsy and do not sit as well as either paper or cloth.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using. Hard plastics are strong and durable like plastic chairs. Plastics are used widely everywhere in our life and without plastic, modern civilization would indeed look very diverse. With a new state ban going into effect, we bid farewell to the purple flower, the smiley. Setup a plasticbag police team to take action, or solution 4. Many believe that paper bags are more environmentally friendly than plastic bags because they are made from a renewable resource, can biodegrade, and are recyclable. The addition of handles will increase the price significantly. Besides, extremely thin plastic bags made from less than 20 micron thick films are choking the drains of many cities causing uncontrolled floods during rainy season. Plastic shopping bags, carrier bags, or plastic grocery bags are a type of plastic bag used as shopping bags and made from various kinds of plastic.
Those considered singleuse and carry out are prohibited. And you can imagine how eating plastic messes with an animals intestine. Plastic bags pollution effects and solutions green. According to the progressive bag alliance, five billion paper bags are used every year in the us compared to 92 billion plastic bags. The problem is, people are accustomed to cheap, convenient lifestyles, and many are unwilling to switch to reusable. More info about the book is available in the press kit or on the explore the book page. It is made usually from oil which means they are materials that are rich in carbon. Disadvantages of using plastic bags our everyday life. Doublebagging the goods is a common practice, but this practice uses more bags and creates more trash. Chemists did do a lot of research about plastic, many. O box 1235, masvingo, zimbabwe abstract plastic litter has become a nuisance in zimbabwean urban areas proving to be beyond the local authorities capacity. While shopping bag plastic is recyclable, it cannot be remade into an organic state, and once created must stay as a synthetic substance for the rest of its life. However, reuse for storage or trash is common, and modern plastic shopping bags.
Recycling plastic bags is essential, but even this uses considerable energy, which pollutes the air. In an 8year span, plastic bag use has dropped 12%, 1,300 tons of plastic bags have been collected annually by six separate grocery chains and there was a 20% decrease in plastic bags brought to the recycling facility. I suggest that the plastic bag manufacturers be required to print in large letters a statement about the hazards of the bags and a. The main thing was not to throw it away carelessly, better still to put it away in a safe place, because there was a note printed on it which read to avoid danger of suffocation keep this wrapper away from babies and children. In fact, the burning of plastic will yield from 10,000 to 20,000 btu per pound, of which 60% can be recovered. So many things seemed to come in plastic bags now that it was difficult to keep track of them. Distribution of all singleuse carryout bags plastic, bioplastic or paper is prohibited. Not only is space an issue, but it takes hundreds of years for plastic bags to completely decompose.
When the harmful chemicals in plastic seep into the ground or get digested by land s huttersto c k. Soft plastic is so light that it can be easily drive away by the wind but its unbelievably strong and colourful like plastic bags. Plastic food containers are said to leach harmful chemicals such as bisphenol a and phthalates into food materials contained in them, which can cause health problems in humans. While they certainly have ecological drawbacks, plastic grocery bags can be beneficial to retailers, consumers, and even the environment. Disposable shopping bags are convenient, but they are a major source of waste and pollution in our society.
Hygiene and wastage issue are also being alarmed as plastic bag can be seen littered all across the town. Suggested solutions to overuse of plastic bags and why we put forward this solution over the others solution 1. Plastic waste is deceptive for birds and other wildlife, who mistake it for food. An empirical study on consumer perception and practice abstract the usage of plastic bag has causes both convenience and inconvenience in our daily lives. Every man, woman and child on our planet uses 83 plastic bags every year. Whether you burn or throw plastic bags, all the chemicals are released which can cause harm to the society. An analysis of policy issues and local responses joseline wadzanai chitotombe department of social ecology, great zimbabwe university, p. The alternatives for plastic bags like jute bags and paper bags were suggested by a few participants in this study. A plastic bag is most often usable once or twice if the contents placed into it arent too heavy. Subnational level plastic bag bans and styrofoam regulations. The answer is abosulutely no see the below evidence if plastic bags are banned, stores and consumers will simply switch to paper bags. We also will discuss alternatives to using plastic shopping bags.
This briefing note looks at the environmental impact of different types of carrier bags cloth, paper and plastic. Both paper and plastic bags have a heavy impact on the environment. Assessing the impact of the complete ban on plastic carry bag. Comparison of environmental impact of plastic, paper and. It is easy to overlook the advantages of plastic grocery bags due to the perception that they are environmentally unfriendly. It causes environmental hazards as most plastic bags are not biodegradable. An evaluation of the effects of californias proposed. In use by consumers worldwide since the 1960s, these bags are sometimes called singleuse bags, referring to carrying items from a store to a home. Take one last look at the many plastic bags of new york.
We need to vote to approve both proposition 65 and 67 to ensure that the planet is protected from the harmful effects of plastic bags. We are affected by plastic bags because we all dispose of them incorrectly and because we are unaware of the consequences of using plastic bags. What are the advantages and disadvantages of manufacturing. Voluntary reduction in plastic bag consumption solution 3. This study focuses on finding out how plastic bags could be substituted by jute bags and how it would contribute to the sustainable development. Researchers at cardiff university, in the united kingdom, found that a fee for plastic bags introduced in october 2015 has led to a sharp decline in the number of shoppers who take singleuse bags at checkout, from 25 percent to 7 percent after one year. Plastics bags are make of a nonrenewable resource, which gives us more reasons to use recyclable shopping bags. The farmers markets are allowed the use of plastic product bags and small paper bags for mushrooms. Word search activity this simple word find game incorporates wolof and english words from the book one plastic bag. Plastic bags are 100% recyclable, reusable, made from natural gas, not oil, and a. The study finds that some 94% of consumers continue to use plastic bags in blatant violation of existing rules.
The european union passed legislation in 2015 aiming to cut plastic bag use in half by 2019 and half again by 2025. Scientific research life cycle assessments show that the opposite is true. Hence, if reusing bags is to be promoted as a strategy to minimize the utilization of plastic bags then the periodic washing of the bags should also be made mandatory for the customers. Because they are so abundant, plastic bags are quickly discarded and only % are recycled. In what some environmentalists claim as a victory, city and county laws banning plastic bags have been sweeping the country from alaska to north carolina over. Instead of being recycled as new plastic bags, many bags are used to create other synthetic materials such as. Paper is more recyclable, but the paper industry is also one of the 10 most polluting industries according to the natural resources defense council. A field survey of the city of sanaa and the surrounding areas, yemen article pdf available november 2014 with 114,005 reads how we. The lies, myths, halftruths, and exaggerations of bag ban proponents proponents use misleading and false arguments to try and convince everyone of the need to ban bags by anthony van leeuwen and don williams 11 august 20 bag bans are one of the latest ecofads being pushed by the green movement and virtually all. It is easier to use one reusable bag than have a bundle of plastic bags clog up your drawers at home. The lies, myths, half truths, and exaggerations of bag ban. The use of plastic products has increased significantly in the recent past, with many enterprises joining the industry and many more varieties of plastics being made.
Santa monica singleuse carryout bag ban faqs background on february 8, 2011 the santa monica city council unanimously voted to ban the. Whats more, the plastic bag manufacturing and recycling industry. Firms consider plastics easier and cheaper to manufacture as compared to other materials such as metals and stones because theyre produced. However, plastic must be replaced with reusable bags, not necessarily paper. Frugal parenting featured column by rachel keller are you a fellow recycler. Land availability will pose a challenge in many countries if landfill practice is continued and restrictions are now being put in place to curtail this approach. The 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags that end up as trash every year devastate fragile ecosystems and take around a thousand years to decompose.
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