Why Are Plastic Bags Bad For The Environment
Plastic bags are used for carrying food, clothes, and many other shopping items. It’s estimated that 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide every year, and 100 billion of those are used in the United States.
That all adds up to the negative and harmful effects of waste in our landfills and oceans. Toxins get into our environment by ending up in our soil or, if burned, polluting our air.
Plastic bags come from oil, just like all other plastic. Manufacturing them puts out a considerable amount of pollution in addition to the product not being biodegradable.
It is a difficult product to produce, and it is nearly impossible to get rid of in an environmentally friendly way. Different sources note it can take anywhere between 500 to 1000 years for a plastic bag to degrade.
The plastic bags that are already in the environment are here to stay, but there are ways to reduce the number of bags that are produced in the future. Plastic bags used to be grabbed without a second thought, but that is changing.
The Impact of Plastic Bags on the Environment
Plastic bags are everywhere. Reusing or recycling one ton of plastic is equal to saving 11 barrels of oil.
That being said, plastic is still plastic, and it will ultimately end up in a landfill. Not to mention it costs a lot of money to recycle plastic bags, and the process is difficult.
When plastic bags end up in the environment or the landfill, they break down into small toxic particles. Those tiny particles can contaminate the soil and waterways.
They can enter the food chain too. Animals can accidentally ingest them, and then those animals get eaten by bigger animals. Sometimes those animals are eaten by humans.
Plastic bags can be seen everywhere. They get caught in trees, float in rivers or the ocean, and clog up gutters.
They can cause sewage to overflow and can become a cesspool of germs. The pollution is unsightly and dangerous to wildlife too.
Animals are impacted by human pollution too. Animals, particularly sea creatures, are killed every day by plastic bags that have been discarded in the environment.
Sea turtles mistake plastic bags in the ocean for jellyfish and eat them. The bags get caught in their stomach or intestines, and that leads to starvation.
Other animals swallow them and face the same fate, and even more become tangled up in the bags and drown. Scientists estimate that 100,000 marine animals die every year from plastic bags.
Every bag that goes down the toilet or blows into a river will likely end up in the sea. Every year, more and more bags find their way into the ocean. Since they do not break down for hundreds of years, this pollution adds up to a huge problem for wildlife.
Plastic pollution has led to a patch of pollution floating in the Pacific Ocean that is estimated to be bigger than the size of the United States. Estimates believe that pollution is 80% plastic waste.
Producing plastic bags also produces greenhouse gasses. The introduction of biodegradable bags reduces some of the emissions.
They break down naturally in about three years, but they still produce emissions when they are being made. Bags made from corn will break down quickly and not release any methane, but they are more expensive to make, and they are not as popular as traditional plastic bags.
Alternatives to Plastic Bags
More and more stores are switching to paper bags or charging for bags. This creates other problems, though. Paper bags are sourced from trees which contribute to deforestation. Charging for bags seems like a great option, but it may cause barriers for lower-income communities.
Choosing to use biodegradable bags for animal waste will reduce the plastic waste in that area. These bags degrade at a much faster rate than plastic bags and will not leech harmful toxins into the environment.
Reusable bags are probably the best alternative to plastic bags. These bags can be found at many places in whatever design or color is desired. Bags can also be made from materials found around the house. An old t-shirt, jeans, towels, or any other fabric can be used to fashion a reusable bag.
Of course, reusing plastic bags that are already in circulation is also a great alternative. Plastic bags can also be used as pet litter bags or trash bags to get one last use out of them.
Taking Action
Personal action to reduce plastic bag waste is a good first step. However, personal actions will not make a dent in the pollution problem unless steps are taken to change production on a global scale.
Voting is more important than ever. Making sure that the environment gets a voice in government policy is the only way this problem will be resolved. Volunteering for campaigns and voting for representatives that will stand up for the planet are local actions that can have a global impact.
Some governments are stepping in. China started requiring stores to charge for plastic bags if the store chooses to offer them.
Ireland has issued a tax on plastic bags charging 20 cents per bag. This tax has decreased the use of plastic bags in the country by 95%.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the United States. The fossil fuel industry has plans to increase the production of plastic by 40% over the next decade. They are building plants across the United States to produce plastic.
This will lead to more air pollution and cause harm to the people who live nearby. Not to mention, this will inevitably lead to more plastic landing in the ocean and littering the landscape.
This has to change immediately, or the statistic that predicts there will be more plastic in the sea than fish by 2050 will become a reality sooner than expected.
