preview

Argumentative Essay On Plastic Bags

Decent Essays

The Plastic Bag Takeover As the United States deals with the overwhelming amounts of waste building up, Nitin et al explain that “plastics take anywhere from 15 to 1000 years to biodegrade” once they are discarded (Nitin). Changes in recycling methods can no longer keep up with the exorbitant amount of waste produced in the United States. This is why some states choose to take their initiative one step further by placing either fees or a ban on the use of plastic bags. Due to the enormous waste the United States produces on a daily basis and the negative outcomes of this trash including adverse health effects, harmful impacts on nature, and the exponential piling of trash in landfills, the US government should ban plastic bags.
When citizens discard plastic bags in the outdoors, they unknowingly contribute to the spreading of powerful illnesses. Through the pooling of rainwater, thrown away bags contribute to the transmission of mosquito born illnesses, such as Malaria (Trilling). Given the wet, warm environment that a littered plastic bag provides, mosquitoes receive the ideal setting they need to breed. With increased mosquito breeding, American’s are left more susceptible to harmful illnesses. One simple way to reduce the littering of plastic bags, is to make plastic bags harder to access in the first place. Additionally, the creation of plastic bags commonly involves many harmful chemicals that in turn play a role in causing detrimental health effects and conditions. Substances in plastic products designed to enhance performance, and make them desirable to consumers, often contain harmful ingredients (Ecology Center). Plastic bags are a commonly overlooked destructive item that might contribute to health problems. When foods are packaged alongside plastic, “chemicals migrate from the plastic packaging to the foods,” one example being the chemical Polyethylene, a substance suspected to be a carcinogen (Ecology Center). The government has a duty to protect its citizens and one form of protection is keeping people away from especially harmful chemicals and substances. The only way to ensure citizens do not come into contact with these harmful substances on a daily basis through plastic bags is to ban them

Get Access