Pros And Cons Of Banning Single Use Bags

Each year there is an increase in demands for plastic bags, and therefore more are shipped, creating further environmental pollution concerns. This increase in demand has lead to the phenomenal upsurge in the use and misuse of plastic bags globally, both in developed and developing countries. Statistics show that 4 to 5 trillion plastic bags are produced per annum, whereby North America and Western Europe account for nearly 80% (Geographical, 2005; Reusable Bags, 2005). Cheeseman (2007) states that approximately “380 billion plastic shopping bags are used in the United States annually”; in turn, only 0.6% of this is recycled.

There's logic missing in the battle of bags now raging in the California Legislature. People are tired of flimsy plastic bags hanging around trees or finding bags swimming with the fishes. The majority of the United States has started to create efficient ways to prevent the harmful doings of global warming. California, as a matter of fact, has already started the path towards a cleaner environment, known as proposition 67, where they proposed a ban on plastic bags in an effort to reduce carbon dioxide intake and environmental waste and public stores would charge customers 10 cents per bag. Although the proposal to charge 10 cents for plastic bags may create a state of bacteria-collecting reusable bags, it is the closest step to a cleaner future because it will protect the environment from degradation, prevent global warming, and decrease environmental waste.

To fully understand why plastic bag fees and bans are necessary, it is imperative to know why these bags are not only a nuisance, but also a danger to the health of the public and the environment. Plastic bags choke not only our land ecosystems, but the oceans and even our children. As one USA article discussing the results of research led by Danielle Green, “Plastic accounts for up to 80% of all litter found in marine habitats.” The article also mentions a study focusing on plastic bag litter in particular, saying that the bags smother and hinder the growth organisms such as microalgae, which animals higher in the food chain feed from, including commercially caught fish (“Plastic Not Fantastic”). Further examples of plastic bags being harmful to the marine environment comes from a study done where supposedly biodegradable plastic grocery bags were put into a natural marine sediment for 98 days. It was found that after the 98 days, there was no significant change in the plastic item, and that microbes had taken up residence on the plastic (Nauendorf et al.). Because these microbes now reside on the plastic, it is not an unusual assumption to think that the organisms that feed off these microbes may end up ingesting the bags because their food source now survives on it. Another instance of plastic bags causing harm to

Australians approximately use 6.9 billion plastic bags per year (Errata Nolan ITU, 2002). The high consumption of plastic bags highlights one outstanding issue. The adverse impact, consumption and disposal of plastic bags have towards the environment. This involves the resources used to make

Plastic is lightweight, strong, inexpensive to provide to consumers, and has a chemical makeup that does not allow it to decompose during our lifetime. This is a problem because plastic’s success in our society is causing us to overuse a product that is designed for temporary use with a material that lasts for centuries creating a buildup of plastic within our landfills. The high mobility of plastic bags makes them particularly problematic in society. Because of Cleveland’s proximity to Lake Erie, it is important to stop the flow of this material into this important natural resource. This paper investigates the negative externalities associated with the use of disposable plastic bags and the benefits of legislation that would ban plastic bags from being given out at retail facilities.

“A single plastic bag can kill over one-hundred dolphins. Plastic bags are often eaten by marine life. The plastic will starve and kill the animals. This litter may not decompose for one-thousand years and will continue to find more victims...” written by an anonymous person. Recently, there has been controversy as a consequence of the decision the government has made to charge a fee to whoever receives plastic bags or ban them completely in certain US stores. People disagree and believe that we shouldn’t spend money on plastic bags and that it is futile. The alternative side states a plastic bag fee will aid our struggling environment and the U.S’s economy. The quote clearly demonstrates how destructive plastic bags are, it is affecting the

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.

With the enjoyable convenience, plastic bags’ harm to the environment is highly concerned. “California is getting closer to approving a measure that would make it the first state to ban grocery, convenience, and other stores from handing out single-use plastic and paper bags. The measure passed the Assembly in June and is now in the Senate. The law, a first for the country, would take effect in 2012. It would require shoppers who don 't bring their own bags to buy either paper bags made of at least 40 percent recycled material or reusable totes. Opponents argue that hundreds

Every year, Americans use 70 to 100 million plastic bags according to Patricia Smith. To put it into perspective, each family in America uses an average of 1,700 plastic bags a year. Each of these plastic bags is used once, and then unfortunately, tossed into the trash. From the trash, the plastic bags eventually end up in a landfill, where it takes hundreds of years to decompose. Otherwise, plastic bags end up as litter. Littered plastic bags are everywhere, from corn fields to the ocean. Animals all over the world often mistake these plastic bags as food. They consume the bags and die from complications as a result. Recycling plastic bags is not an option either. Plastic bags are one of the

Plastic bags are tools of convenience for everyday life. However, the toll the bags take on the environment outweighs the benefits. The environment suffers because of the choices that people make when they dispose of their plastic bags. The disposal of the plastic bag is not of importance to many as it may not seem like a harmful thing to do at first glance. This is, however, an ever growing problem which will continue to persist since people are uneducated on the matter. As a matter of fact, the video exposes the damage done on the environment, states that “the majority end up in our landfills,choke our rivers and storm drain system, and make their way to the ocean where they threaten marine life” (Jesus Betancourt, 2012). Consequently, this would result in a constant overflowing of plastic bags harming our ecosystems and the systems that

Plastic pollution is a major threat to our environment and continues to get worse every day. We live in a disposable society where fast food is served in plastic or Styrofoam containers and discarded instead of glass dishes. Many people use plastic water bottles instead drinking from the tap. Plastic soda bottles are used instead of glass returnable bottles. Plastic grocery bags have replaced the brown paper grocery bags. Unfortunately, not enough people properly dispose so all this plastic ends up as plastic pollution by littering road ways, parks, beaches, and oceans, or it gets buried in landfills.

Plastic bags cause a massive amount of pollution to the earth. It lets out lots of CO2 into the air with the production of it. CO2 is a greenhouse gas that if let out too much at one time can hurt the planet. Not only do plastic bags produce pollution while being made, but also when they are decomposing. Plastic bags go on to last for up to 10-1000 years.

I decided to write this report after watching a documentary called, “Plastic Bags Environmental Impacts" on YouTube. The video showed poor innocent animals wrapped up in plastic bags and it made me feel heartbroken. So I wanted to find out what other issues do plastic bags create and if we really need to ban them, or if we need to find other alternatives, or just manage our use of them. Plastic bags have a benefit ‘convenience’, as most people nowadays use plastic bags for all sort of things e.g. moving things, reusing for shopping, art and crafts which show people are reusing them seen they are so convenient. My hypothesis is: Plastic bags are causing a problem and together we need to find a solution. My key questions are: What are the issues that plastic bags create? Are their environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic bags? How can we manage the use of plastic bags?

Human’s dependence on plastic bags have grown greatly in just the past couple of years. In 2013, 8.5 million tons of plastic bags were used and not properly recycled resulting in well over 8 million tons of plastic bag waste. This amount of plastic bags used was expected to grow 10% within the 5 years following 2013 which would result in 9.35 million tons of plastic bag usage and waste (Usage of Plastic Bags and Health Hazards 1). The lack of recycling centers and people willing to recycle them causes only 8% of all the plastic bags being discarded to be successfully recycled. In fact, 4.4 pounds of plastic bags are not recycled each day, meaning they either make it into a land

Plastic bags are utilized daily in supermarkets, restaurants, and stores. These bags are wreaking havoc in our country since California started using them. Not only banning bags will help California, but it would benefit the whole world if everybody stops using them. Plastic bags are one of the most dangerous substances in our environment. It seems silly that plastic bags could do so much harm, but these bags contribute to environmental issues in several ways. There is more work that needs to be done in order to further society in line with sustainable concepts that would not only serve to reduce waste but also to protect the extant environment. Human beings invented plastic bags for the convenience of carriers and packers. However, just as other great inventions, like, nuclear energy and biotechnology, plastic bags are causing significant issues like global warming, environment complications ,and economic benefits.