Overview About Plastic Bags

Plastics are made of polyethylene, which consists of resin that does not dissolve in water. The following lists are some facts about plastic bags.

• They fill landfills.
• They float into trees, rooftops, roadways, and oceans.
• A plastic industry uses five of the top six most toxic chemicals.
• Americans use 50 billion to 80 billion plastic bags a year (Martin, 2008)
• In Kenya, 4,000 tons of plastic bags are provided to super markets (Lacey, 2005)
• North America and Western Europe use 80% of plastic bags production in the world (Halweil, 2004).
• Factories produced 4 to 5 trillion of plastic grocery and trash bags in 2002 (Rubin, 2007).

These days, plastic bags are one of the big issues in our environment and the following lists are some problems with plastic bags

• Plastic bags can put toxins in the soil, water, and food chain.
• They take more than 1,000 years to break down (Angier, 2008).
• Plastic bags endanger the lives of marine animals and pets.

Responses To The Plastic Bag Problem

Environmental activists are saying that the use of paper bags and reusable plastics should be encouraged. The main concerns of the activists are protecting the environment, saving energy, and reducing a danger to wild life and pets. Paper bags are biodegradable and recyclable, and are made from trees, a renewable resource. In general, the main goal is replacing plastic bags by recyclable and reusable ones.

Photo cortesy birdhouse.org