In various parts of the world, there has been a phase-out of lightweight plastic bags.
Single-use plastic
shopping bags are usually
distributed (for free) to customers by stores when purchasing goods. It is a popular method that is
practiced in many countries for being a strong, cheap, and hygienic way of transporting items.
ISSUES
Problems associated with plastic bags include use of non-renewable
resources (such as crude oil, gas and coal),[2] disposal, and environmental impacts.
A car could drive about 11 metres on the amount of petroleum used to make a single plastic bag.[1] In Australia alone 6 billion HDPE bags were
used in 2002.[1] Usage reduced to 5.6 billion in 2004,[2] and 3.9 billion in 2007.[1] Plastic bags can block drains, trap
birds and kill livestock. The World Wide Fund for Nature has estimated that over 100,000 whales, seals, and turtles die every year
as a result of eating or being trapped by plastic bags. In India, an estimated
number of 20 cows die per day as a result of ingesting plastic bags and having
their digestive systems clogged by the bags. It is also very common across
Africa to have sewers and drain systems clogged by bags which cause severe
cases of malaria due to the increased population of mosquitoes that live on the
flooded sewers.[3] The term white pollution has been coined to describe the local and global effects of discarded
plastic bags upon the environment.
CONTROL
Governments all over the world have taken action to ban the sale of
lightweight bags, charge customers for lightweight bags or generate taxes from
the stores who sell them.[4] Major countries such as Rwanda, China, Taiwan and Macedonia have a total ban
on the bag.[4] In the United States only cities and counties have outlawed
their use; however in September 2014, California became the first state to pass a law imposing a ban.
DISPOSAL
Plastic bags cause
many minor and major issues in geographical terms. The most general issue with
plastic bags is the amount of waste produced. Many plastic bags end up on
streets and are aesthetically displeasing.[1]
When disposed of properly, they take many years to decompose and break down generating large amounts of garbage over long periods of time. If not disposed of properly
the bags can pollute waterways, clog sewers and have been found in oceans affecting the habitat of animals and marine creatures.[1]
Lightweight plastic bags are also blown into trees and other plants and can
be mistaken for flowers by animals affecting their diet. Plastic bags break
down, but they never biodegrade. As a result, any toxic additives they
contain—including flame retardants, antimicrobials, and plasticizers—will be
released into the environment. Many of those toxins directly affect the
endocrine systems of organisms, which control almost every cell in the body.[5] Research shows the average operating
'lifespan' of a plastic bag to be approximately 20 minutes. Plastic bags can
last in landfill - an anaerobic environment - for up to 1000 years.
MOVING FORWARD
Most lightweight bags are made from high density polyethylene (HDPE). A reusable but generally short-lived alternative is bags made from
thicker low density polyethylene (LDPE), which are more expensive to produce.[168] Bags can also be made from biodegradable materials that will generally break
down quicker than HDPE. A common material is cornstarch.[169]
Non-disposable alternatives include traditional shopping bags such as the string bag, shopping trolleys (not supermarket
trolleys, but a soft bag
mounted on a frame with wheels and a handle), and rucksacks.
The human-triggered sixth mass extinction
should give you cause to worry!
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_lightweight_plastic_bags
Comments
Post a Comment