HOPE Part III: The death of plastic
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Plastic bag pollution!
Instead of writing about something too far from us to have any significant impact, Today I shall write about the impact of Plastic Bags.
Yes, the plastic bags that you used everytime you go shopping. Do you know the environmental impact of plastic bags? Or you have heard about it but have forgotten the details? Well, let me remind you.
Exerpt from the excellent article of Paper or Plastic Bags?
Plastic bags are made from non-renewable petroleum resources.
Plastics can be recycled, but not as easily as glass, aluminum or paper. Part of the problem of recycling plastic bags stems from the fact that bags may be made from one of several plastic types. Although two plastic items may look similar, they could be made from different types of resins. This makes separating plastics for recycling difficult. The plastic industry has begun to address this problem by coding plastics with numbers to help consumers and recycling processors identify the type of resin used in production. Some plastic bags have resin codes imprinted on them. However, for the most part, plastic must be recycled into a product for non food use. For example, plastic soda bottles cannot be recycled into new bottles. They can be recycled into products such as bathtubs, flower pots, parking lot car stops, toys, and trash cans.
In addition to not being easily recycled, plastic production and processing require the use of toxic chemicals. Many manufacturing plants that produce these chemicals also produce hazardous waste and pollute the air. In 1986, the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, ranked the 20 chemicals whose production generates the most hazardous waste. Five of the top six were chemicals commonly used by the plastic industry [propylene, phenol, ethylene, polystyrene, and benzene].
Claims have been made that some bags are degradable. In other words, they will decompose over time. Biodegradation takes place when air is present. Photodegradation occurs when sunlight is available. Most of the garbage we generate is landfilled (about 95%). In landfills, garbage is buried beneath layers of soil that make it difficult for air or sunlight to reach discarded items. The fact is that most plastic bags just don't degrade, even in a compost pile. There are some new starch-based plastics that may be more degradable. But few grocery bags are made from that type of product.
Plastic bags are high in fuel energy if they are burned, but they emit harmful gases that must be prevented from entering the atmosphere.
Exerpt from the excellent article of Plastic Left Holding the Bag as Environmental Plague
About 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year, according to Vincent Cobb, founder of reuseablebags.com.
Countries that have banned or taken action to discourage the use of plastic bags include Australia, Bangladesh, Ireland, Italy, South Africa and Taiwan. Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, also has banned the bags.
Australians were using nearly 7 billion bags a year, and nearly 1.2 billion bags a year were being passed out free in Ireland before government restrictions, according to government estimates.
Plastic industry trade associations were unable to provide estimates of plastic bag use in the United States. However, based on studies of plastic bag use in other nations, the environmental group Californians Against Waste estimates Americans use 84 billion plastic bags annually.
The first plastic sandwich bags were introduced in 1957. Department stores started using plastic bags in the late 1970s and supermarket chains introduced the bags in the early 1980s.
Overall, the U.S. plastics and related industries employed about 2.2 million U.S. workers and contributed nearly $400 million to the economy in 2002, according to The Society of the Plastics Industry.
About 100,000 whales, seals, turtles and other marine animals are killed by plastic bags each year worldwide, according to Planet Ark, an international environmental group.
The bags were the fifth most common item of debris found on beaches.
Well, as you can see from above, most of the more educated and advance country has been trying to stop using plastic bags. So what are we waiting for? STOP Using plastic bags!, or at least, reduce their usage.
A few things we as individual can do:
1. Reject the offer to use multiple plastic bags to pack a single item, especially when it's unnecessary.
2. Bring your own shopping bags when you are doing large scale shopping. These can be cloth bags, reused plastic bags, paper carrier, or even travelling bags.
3. Recycle plastic bags.
4. When you have the option, always opt for a paper carrier.
5. When buying small objects, try to utilize your pockets.
6. If you buy multiple items, try to optimize plastic bags usage by packing several items into one plastic bag.
Any more creative ways to conserve the use of plastic bags are welcomed.
Plastic bag pollution!
Instead of writing about something too far from us to have any significant impact, Today I shall write about the impact of Plastic Bags.
Yes, the plastic bags that you used everytime you go shopping. Do you know the environmental impact of plastic bags? Or you have heard about it but have forgotten the details? Well, let me remind you.
Exerpt from the excellent article of Paper or Plastic Bags?
Plastic bags are made from non-renewable petroleum resources.
Plastics can be recycled, but not as easily as glass, aluminum or paper. Part of the problem of recycling plastic bags stems from the fact that bags may be made from one of several plastic types. Although two plastic items may look similar, they could be made from different types of resins. This makes separating plastics for recycling difficult. The plastic industry has begun to address this problem by coding plastics with numbers to help consumers and recycling processors identify the type of resin used in production. Some plastic bags have resin codes imprinted on them. However, for the most part, plastic must be recycled into a product for non food use. For example, plastic soda bottles cannot be recycled into new bottles. They can be recycled into products such as bathtubs, flower pots, parking lot car stops, toys, and trash cans.
In addition to not being easily recycled, plastic production and processing require the use of toxic chemicals. Many manufacturing plants that produce these chemicals also produce hazardous waste and pollute the air. In 1986, the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, ranked the 20 chemicals whose production generates the most hazardous waste. Five of the top six were chemicals commonly used by the plastic industry [propylene, phenol, ethylene, polystyrene, and benzene].
Claims have been made that some bags are degradable. In other words, they will decompose over time. Biodegradation takes place when air is present. Photodegradation occurs when sunlight is available. Most of the garbage we generate is landfilled (about 95%). In landfills, garbage is buried beneath layers of soil that make it difficult for air or sunlight to reach discarded items. The fact is that most plastic bags just don't degrade, even in a compost pile. There are some new starch-based plastics that may be more degradable. But few grocery bags are made from that type of product.
Plastic bags are high in fuel energy if they are burned, but they emit harmful gases that must be prevented from entering the atmosphere.
Exerpt from the excellent article of Plastic Left Holding the Bag as Environmental Plague
About 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year, according to Vincent Cobb, founder of reuseablebags.com.
Countries that have banned or taken action to discourage the use of plastic bags include Australia, Bangladesh, Ireland, Italy, South Africa and Taiwan. Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, also has banned the bags.
Australians were using nearly 7 billion bags a year, and nearly 1.2 billion bags a year were being passed out free in Ireland before government restrictions, according to government estimates.
Plastic industry trade associations were unable to provide estimates of plastic bag use in the United States. However, based on studies of plastic bag use in other nations, the environmental group Californians Against Waste estimates Americans use 84 billion plastic bags annually.
The first plastic sandwich bags were introduced in 1957. Department stores started using plastic bags in the late 1970s and supermarket chains introduced the bags in the early 1980s.
Overall, the U.S. plastics and related industries employed about 2.2 million U.S. workers and contributed nearly $400 million to the economy in 2002, according to The Society of the Plastics Industry.
About 100,000 whales, seals, turtles and other marine animals are killed by plastic bags each year worldwide, according to Planet Ark, an international environmental group.
The bags were the fifth most common item of debris found on beaches.
Well, as you can see from above, most of the more educated and advance country has been trying to stop using plastic bags. So what are we waiting for? STOP Using plastic bags!, or at least, reduce their usage.
A few things we as individual can do:
1. Reject the offer to use multiple plastic bags to pack a single item, especially when it's unnecessary.
2. Bring your own shopping bags when you are doing large scale shopping. These can be cloth bags, reused plastic bags, paper carrier, or even travelling bags.
3. Recycle plastic bags.
4. When you have the option, always opt for a paper carrier.
5. When buying small objects, try to utilize your pockets.
6. If you buy multiple items, try to optimize plastic bags usage by packing several items into one plastic bag.
Any more creative ways to conserve the use of plastic bags are welcomed.
posted by Zuraffo at 11:42 PM
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