Plastics : The Environmental Waste Effects Of Plastic Uses

Much of this trash ends up in the ocean harming not only marine life, but us too. However, this is not only happening in America it’s happening all over the world with China at 8.82 million metric tons of mismanaged waste. All this waste if caught in a gyre, can lead to one of the garbage patches. This has been happening since we started using plastic but it the garbage patches were discovered in the early 1990’s. We keep throwing trash away that keeps being misplaced, then it ends up in the oceans with the rest of the trash. I propose multiple solutions, to enforce plastic bag ban and to enforce recycling. California has banned the use of plastic bags, meaning that if you do use them a fine will be put in place. Environment California explained how before the plastic bag ban California used up to 19 billion plastic bags each year with less than five percent being recycled. However, we can change that. By using less plastic bags we harm the ocean less. Another solution is to each week collect each household’s trash, per pound of trash found in the recycling bin provided by the city should be a $11 fine. Tiffany Edmonds, Solid Waste Management Department spokeswoman, explained why they started the fine “ It is an attempt to change behavior. The fine covers the cost of sending a garbage collection truck to the house to pick up the contaminated recycling bin” this will encourage people to recycle. Since the plastic

Due to the proximal ban of plastic bags in California, Adam B. Summers argues the reasons why they should not be banned in his article, “Bag Ban Bad for Freedom and Environment”. In order to build his argument, Summers includes an effective use of factual data and evidence, relating to the audience, and appealing to the audience’s emotion.

Summers’ facts and examples in this article to support his claim that banning plastic bags would be bad. A fact that he uses in his article is that the bill would have prohibited grocery stores and convenience stores at least $2 million in gross annual sales. People often debate that plastic bags hurt the planet and marine life. However, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, plastic bags, sacks, and wraps make up about 1.6 percent of all solid waste materials. Out of that little percent, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bags, the most common plastic grocery bag, only make up about 0.3 percent of them.

The upcoming elections is drawing near—thus many people in California are deciding which of the bills should be suitable for it. Out of the propositions, I picked 67 and 63 as they peaks my curiosity. Plastic Bags is constantly being used—only once by many Californians and it’s damaging to wildlife such as animals. Thus, I would vote YES on Proposition 67 because it is time to move away from plastic bags and started focusing on recycled and reusable bags. Even if there’s an increase of sales by .10 cents, should not mean much anyways as many Californian consistently paid multiple taxes anyways. Plastic bags; however, only decompose after 450 years—a handful of extra pennies being charged fails in comparison to the longevity of dangerous materials onto the environment.

The purpose of this proposition is to give shoppers the option of which carryout bag they choose while remaining environmentally conscious about the use of plastic bags. Proposition 65 will stop retail stores from keeping the money collected from carryout bag taxes as profit and instead give the funds to environmental conservation efforts. Opposers of Prop 65 argue that this initiative is a distraction devised by the plastics industry to deceive voters into believing that allocating revenue from carryout bags to conservation efforts is enough to help the environment, when in actuality the use of plastic bags should be eradicated entirely. Additionally, opposers contend that Prop 65 will undermine retailers by requiring them to bear the cost

In response to the growth of our world indiscriminate use of plastic bags, Summers (2013) has stated that the plastic bad is harmful for people and environment in his article “Bag ban bad for freedom and environment”. He uses some facts, examples, statistical data and rhetorical question. Also, he tried to make emotionally readers when he explained how many jobs can be lost because of the bill and how much waste is caused by plastic bags to compare with paper.

Did you know that plastic bags are contained with recyclable materials. Plastic bags are hurting low income families and cause us to use more of our nonrenewable resource. It affects the low income family because maybe they're on a budget and can’t afford to go over it. Also it affect us because we are running out of nonrenewable resource. This is a problem because low income families are trying to feed their family on a budget. It will take more nonrenewable resource and after a few years it will be gone. We can’t get it back. There shouldn’t be a fee on plastic bags. Plastic bags are less harm to the environment than paper bags. Plastic bags make up a very small percent of municipal waste stream. Plastic bags are made out of recycled content

Additionally, because many citizens do not understand how plastic bags are made, used, how landfills work, I had no clue, that in a dry landfill, paper bags don't degrade any faster than plastic bags, because we don't understand how things are recycled. According to Monstrous, banning plastic bags will only create hardship for consumers not only making it inconvenient for the customer, but also in the long run will cause more environmental damage. (32) There has been so much misleading information in our media culture world. But, all in all, using plastic bags impacts the environment much less than using paper ones. (32) As one partial solution to our environmental problems, could be to make recycling resources mandatory, both paper and plastic, in addition, why not add cardboard, and glass. Once established, the government agencies would ultimately be responsible for developing regulations, enforce, and reviewing the overall success through ethical sound research. At which time, adjustments could be made to improve the overall process. Secondly, the money collected at the stores from individuals, who still use plastic bags, could be used to implement this new process and higher cleanup crews picking up trash and recyclables. This could become one of the activities of the Peace Corps, Ecology Youth Corps, job corps, nonviolent inmates, and summer jobs for our youth, especially

Man-made garbage has left lasting negative impacts on the world around us. Most people have seen some kind of PSA about recycling. However, many people don’t think about how trash has affected out economy negatively as well. Throughout the course of only a single day in the United States, nearly 5 pounds of garbage are produced by an individual, which is the highest average among every other country on Earth. Less than 2 pounds of the garbage produced each day is recycled. These numbers add up to 250 million tons of garbage produced by Americans in one year, with only 80 million tons ending up recycled. These numbers are staggering and something needs to be done to combat it. The solution that I am proposing is the enforcement of mandatory recycling and even stricter laws against littering. The advantages of mandatory recycling have many different forms. It would save natural resources as well as further preserve the planet for our descendants. Even if one doesn’t care about the environment, the economic benefits cannot be ignored. The United States’ economy would be strengthened and the average household would save money on goods.

People don’t understand what the plastic bags can do when they’re just getting rid of them and just throwing them where they please. They’re not only polluting the air, but who knows where they will

Recently Santa Barbara began legislation to expand the new ordinance to ban the use of single use plastic bags in unincorporated areas on July 21, 2015 (Independent). This ordinance was aptly named the “Single-Use Carryout Bag Ordinance”, which would work on a two tiered scheduled system in which certain stores based on the schedule would be prohibited from providing single-use plastic carry out bags to customers at the point of sale and would require a ten cent charge to provide customers with each paper bag. The schedule would prohibit any supermarket, and store with a pharmacy larger than 10,000 square feet from giving single use plastic bags on and after May 14, 2014. On or after November 14, 2014 for smaller grocery stores and others. This schedule was then adjusted for the unincorporated areas with the respective dates, with larger stores on March 22, 2016 and September 24, 2016 (Single Use Bags). This ban is a reflection of an ongoing statute proposed to ban bags in California in early 2015 but due to groups opposing the ban it has been put on hold until November 2016 (Ballotpedia).

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.

This research question aims to think deeper on the circumstances of the overuse of plastic and paper, and what could happen more to the animals/birds, our environment, and our bodies if consumers keep on using plastic and paper products. This research question should be asked to raise awareness to users and most importantly designers, so they consider using other eco friendly material in designing their products.

Five hundred billion used globally and one hundred billion of them end up in U.S. landfills, taking about one thousand years to decompose, but only 5.2 percent were recycled (Borrud, 2007, p.75).-These are the figures plastic bags have produced every year. Human beings invented plastic bags for the convenience of carriers and packers. However, just as other great inventions, say, nuclear energy and biotechnology, plastic bags are causing serious issues like global warming, environment pollution and energy consumption. They are gradually becoming sword towards ourselves. In responding to this problem, the city of San Francisco has become the trail blazer to prohibit non-biodegradable plastic bags in its large supermarkets and pharmacies.

Over a 100 cities across the U.S. have imposed taxes on plastic bags after watching countries in Europe have favorable results. Tony Lowes, director of the Friends of the Irish Environment, claims that Ireland’s “15 cent tax on plastic bags has resulted in a 95 percent reduction in their use” (qtd. in Roach 3). Similarly, cities in the U.S. imposed taxes in an effort to achieve effective results. A bag tax in Washington D.C. has “resulted in a 50 percent decrease in single bag usage” (Bayly 3). On the other side of the country, Los Angeles “went from using 2.2 million bags a year to using 125,000 a year” after the tax on bags went into effect (Bayly 3); nonetheless, advocates of plastic bags have brought to light the harsh reality of taxes. Bag taxes pose an economic threat for both retailers and consumers. Areas that have imposed taxes experienced a decrease in sales while areas not subject to taxes experienced an increase in sales. According to a survey conducted by the National Center for Policy Analysis, these taxes force many stores to “reduce their employment by more than 10%” (qtd. in Gleason 4). Plastic bag taxes make grocery shopping unaffordable for families below the