This now poses a major challenge to environmental and agricultural production. Discarded plastic bags that have already made their way into the field are not only particularly detrimental to farming but also severely harmful. The consequence of this would be the environmental deterioration of the so-called developed global society. It is very unfortunate that, although plastic bags have been seen to have reduced agricultural production worldwide, there has been little significant awareness-raising to undertake proper, effective and concrete proactive action.
Indeed, few serious scientific investigations have been made by international organisations and the international community to reduce the ever-increasing consumption of plastic bags.
Plastic bags should be prohibited globally and their biodegradable equivalents should be implemented to address these gross and harmful issues.
The public should be informed not to use plastic bags, but to use eco-friendly alternative bags made from fabric, natural fibres and paper to reduce the problems associated with plastic bag wastes. Regulation against the indiscriminate use and recycling of waste from plastic bags is strongly recommended, as well as restriction of the free sale of plastic bags by retailers.
In the United States, the single-use plastic bag is a significant worry for local governments. Plastic bags remain a major source of land-based litter and marine debris, which obstruct stormwater management systems due to their tremendously low re-use and recycling rate.
In reaction, local governments have taken a number of steps designed to minimise the store-level use of single-use shopping bags in the following main categories: bans, fees and levying taxes; minimum product size of bags; public awareness requirements; and retailer take-back initiatives.
Convery et al. The consequence of the tax on the use of plastic bags in retail outlets was intense. There was a greater percentage decrease in use, with a related benefit in the form of reduced littering with adverse effects on the environment. Plastic bag charging started with a fixed nominal price per bag across all retailers. With the implementation of the tax, the use of plastic bags dropped dramatically across retailers. However, the paid levy only had short-run success, and as soon as the price was set to a lower rate, the demand picked up.
Even so, the combination of legislation and pricing has successfully curbed the short-term use of plastic bags. They further elucidated that the single-use plastic shopping bag is one of the leading causes of environmental and socio-economic problems worldwide, which has led to universal calls for use reduction intervention strategies. There is a need to minimise our plastic use to effectively minimise plastic waste.
This means modifying our everyday habits, not using plastic when there is a good alternative and only using plastic when it is strictly necessary.
Plastic bags can be reused or used for different purposes. It is necessary to think about how they can be reused before disposing of them. They either end up in landfill sites or are shipped to Asia, where workers working in deplorable conditions cherry-pick trash looking for plastics that can be melted down and reused there.
Not only are such practices a human rights violation, but also the toxic open-melting methods used pose a huge threat to human health. Plastic bags are harming animals by the dozens. Thousands of birds die every year due to ingesting substantial amounts of plastic bag remnants.
At least other species of animals are also at risk of ingesting or getting entangled in plastic bags. Most marine animals mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and feed on them. Sea turtles are in danger of becoming endangered due to the mass ingestion of plastics. These animals eat so many plastic bags that their stomachs have no room for actual food, leaving them in danger of starvation. Other dangers of plastic bags on animals is suffocation and strangulation from becoming caught in plastic bags.
Dolphins, seals, sharks, flamingos, seagulls, pelicans, and other animals and birds have been found dead due to getting stuck in plastic bags. Another major impact of plastic bags on the environment is that they degrade into smaller pieces and get eaten by aquatic organisms, small fish, and jellyfish. The toxic chemicals from the plastic waste then enters the food chain increasing concentrations as larger fish feed on smaller ones and other animals feed on the fish — including human beings.
Knowing why are plastic bags bad is not enough. We all have to do something about it. Think of the animals, the humans, and the environment being damaged by our plastic bag addiction.
We clearly need to put an end to plastic bags, or at least try. There are lots of good quality, affordable reusable grocery bags in the market that you can buy and say goodbye to plastic bags.
You can buy a fabric bag made from cotton or a jute bag. Swaths of these birds have been found dead by rescue workers on Midway due to ingesting substantial amounts of plastic bag remnants. All the plastic found in the birds on Midway Atoll is brought to the island by albatross parents who fed them to their young.
An estimated 4 tons of plastic accumulates on the island every day. Floating plastic bags are often mistaken for jellyfish by marine animals who feed on them, such as sea turtles which are threatened with becoming endangered due to mass ingestion of plastics. Shards of plastic bags fester in their stomachs, leaving no room for actual food, and because the plastic cannot be digested, it remains in the sea long after the turtle has perished and decayed because of it.
Similar cases have occurred with animals across the planet over the last 3 decades, since plastic bags were introduced on a mass scale. Other problems animals face due to plastic bag waste are suffocation from eating plastic shards, and strangulation from becoming caught in plastic bags. Dolphins, seals, sharks, flamingos, seagulls, pelicans, and other animals and birds have been found dead in large numbers due to plastic bags.
In addition to this, as the plastic degrades into smaller pieces it is also eaten by aquatic organisms, small fish, and jellyfish. Plastic waste, therefore, enters the food chain in increasing concentrations as larger fish feed on smaller ones and other animals feed on the fish — including human beings. The litter caused by plastic bag use it not limited to land.
Plastic bags contribute heavily to the formation of a quagmire of plastic debris in the North Pacific Ocean , also known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is estimated to be twice the size of Hawaii or possibly even twice the size of the United States. The plastics industry has launched major and influential campaigns against endeavors to reduce or ban plastic bag use across the U.
They argue strongly in favor of single-use plastic bags, with various advertising campaigns airing across on televisions in the U. Lawmakers in California also rejected a people-led statewide ban across the state due to heavy lobbying initiatives and advertising campaigns in favor of plastic bags. However, according to the documentary Bag It , the paper bags now used by San Franciscans after a plastic bag ban was enforced there are recycled at least 10 times more than plastic bags were.
The first nationwide ban on plastic bags was enacted over a decade ago in Bangladesh, after plastic bags blocked storm drains, causing massive floods. Rwanda has been completely plastic bag-free for many years.
Towns in England have been following suit, beginning with the town of Modbury which went plastic bag-free in China banned plastic bags in and in the first year of doing so they eliminated the use of over 40 billion single-use plastic bags.
Bhutan recently put Gross National Happiness before consumption and banned plastic bags altogether. The state of South Australia banned plastic bags in , and Mexico City banned stores from supplying plastic bags to customers the same year.
Switzerland, Holland and Germany have had no-bag policies for many years now, with all new plastic bags carrying fees. Now for a look at the U. In recent years, over communities across the States have introduced anti-bag measures. Due to a lack of governmental regulation of plastic bags, U. In , San Francisco became the first American city to ban plastic bags in specific stores, and similar bans now exists in coastal North Carolina and Portland.
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