Why Plastic Bags Should Be Banned From Store

Today, Americans are worried about the effects plastic bag impact the environment. In the dispute between the Gulftowne Gazette Committe and gift shop owner Theo Jones, the Gulftowne Ordinance Committee provides a stronger argument for it point that plastic bags litter our landscape and threatening surrounding wildlife. As the Gulftowne Ordinance Committee points out cities across the country and globe have banned the use of plastic bag.

Answering this question, Adams B. Summers asserts that despite public knowledge, plastic bags are not, in fact, harmful and dangerous and shouldn't be banned. He conveys this through citing facts and research analysis, appealing to audience's logic, and utilizing word choice and vivid language.

Many of these issues however, can be addressed and even resolved in several ways. Nowadays, a number of countries have begun to impose taxes on plastic bag consumption, with few even banning the use of plastic

He sites from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “plastic bags, sacks, and wraps of all kinds (not just grocery bags) make up only about 1.6 percent of all municipal solid waste materials. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) bags, which are the most common kind of plastic grocery bags make up just 0.3 percent of this total.” From this statistic, plastic bags are not using a lot of waste that the average person would assume. Also, most users of plastic bags

According to United Nations Environment Programme, there are approximately 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in every square mile of the ocean! I strongly think that plastic bags should be banned in the whole entire United States. Not only would it encourage people to use reusable bags, it will save many animals, and will prevent toxins from entering into the air.

The claims that plastic bags are worse for the environment over reusable bags are deceitful. Compared to paper bags, plastic grocery bags produce fewer greenhouse gases, require 70 percent less energy to make, generate 80 percent, less waste, and utilize less than 4 percent of the amount of water needed to make them. The reason for this is because plastic bags are lighter and take up less space. Another reason reusable bags aren't as useful is because they are more prone to food contamination if not washed properly. A study found that San Francisco’s plastic bag ban in 2007 resulted in more visits to the hospital from patients suffering E. coli, salmonella, and other infectious diseases from

To many, plastic bags are seen as malevolent and criminal, and heavy campaigns have been pushed into our communities to ban the use of them and enforce those beliefs, but in actuality, plastic bags aren’t as horrible as we make them out to be for

In 2013, the Senate disapproved of the law which would ban plastic bags in California. Environmentalist wanted to limit the waste the country produced, so they brought the case to court. This incident caused Adam B. Summers to think about the uses of plastic bags. He thought of various uses plastic bags have and the negative effects a ban on them would cause the California economy. Although his essay consists of only nine bullet points, Summers makes a great argument against banning plastic bags.

Is a fee on plastic bags necessary? Plastic bag fees are not going to help achieve what we want for the environment. People in the U.S. are going to have trouble paying groceries if they have to pay for the bags too. Plastic bags are a problem but there is more plastic out there that should not be made anymore. If people want a change in the environment then we should recycle the plastic bags because if we put on fee on plastic bags people are not going to want to buy them but then reusable bags produce more waste and use up more resources. There should not be a fee on plastic bags because bag fees hurt low-income Americans who are already struggling, bag fees are not going to help achieve our goals, and plastic bags are not a litter issue.

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.

At the time plastic bags were introduced, they offered many advantages over the other options shoppers had at the grocery store. Plastic bags are very affordable. Because plastic bags are affordable, more stores began to stock them as a cheaper alternative to paper bags. The more stores that stocked plastic bags, the more people started to use plastic bags. When shoppers choose plastic bags over paper bags, the stores save money because they are spending less on bags. Plastic bags were also more appealing to the shopper than paper bags. Plastic bags are thin and flexible, which means they can be stored very easily. Plastic bags are lighter than paper bags, waterproof, unlike paper bags, and strong enough to carry most groceries. Another advantage is that shoppers could carry many plastic bags at once, unlike paper bags. Shoppers can reuse their plastic bags for things besides groceries, as well. For example, shoppers can use plastic bags as trash bags, or bags to put wet swimsuits or dirty laundry in. Because plastic bags are affordable, physically better than paper bags, and could be reused; many shoppers and stores began using plastic over paper.

One of the sites that have a density of 700 plastic debris is the North Sea in Europe. Currently, only Ireland has banned plastic bags and the United Kingdom put a 5-pound tax on plastic bags. All the other states surrounding has done anything about it yet. This is not okay because plastic debris is estimated to keep contaminating the ocean for another thousands years due to its extremely slow biodegradability rate. There are criminals that are put on death row each year for killing people, why can’t we do the same for sea animals? I propose these plastic factory owners surrounding the North Sea shall be tied up, and suffocated with their creations and be left to drown. As to put an end to plastic bag

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. That is possibly 1000 years that a plastic bag goes on to add the huge amount of trash in the world. Although plastic bags take so long to decompose they do eventually break down. Exposure to a lot of sunlight and wind will also speed up the process of the decomposition of plastic bags. The breaking down of plastic bags seems like a good thing, however it is the complete opposite. Plastic bags are broken down into microscopic particles that are toxic. Those toxic particles then go on to hurt the environment. An articles states, “They break down into tiny toxic particles that contaminate the soil and waterways and enter the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them.”. This goes to show that those

The resources and things that go into making plastic bags can be used for other important things.

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.