Reducing the Use of Plastic - Research Paper Example

How Plastic Bags Affect our Environment In the past few years’ plastic has become an increasing versatile and popular material which is used to make numerous everyday objects ranging from toys, cutlery to plastic bags. The issue with plastic bags is that they are mostly non-biodegradable and have become a threat to our environment. In the U.S. alone, millions of plastics bags are used by grocery stores. Plastic bags are seldom re-cycled and even if large companies attempted to recycle the plastic bags it would require a huge monetary investment. It is high time we realize the threat that plastic bags pose to our environment and understand that continuing using plastic bags can even leads to endangerment of marine organisms and other wildlife. Plastics are everywhere and its properties are toxic and poison. Plastic bags should be banned in retail shops because it affects the environment and using alternative solutions that help to reduce using plastic bags. Plastic bags Millions of tonnes of plastic are produced every year. In fact the single used plastic bags have become a popular choice for shoppers and consumers ever since they were introduced in the 1940s. In the 1970s Single Use Plastic bags (SUPB) also known as high density polyethylene bags rose to popularity and they are in use even to this date. Today, almost 1.5 trillion tonnes of SUPBs are used annually around the world while in the U.S. alone about 100 billion are used (Equinox Centre, 2013). Chemically, the normal plastic bag is made up of high density polyethylene. Several monomers make up the bags. Plastic bags contain several additive and chemicals which imparts special characteristics to the bags. Chemicals such as Bisphenol A, Phatlates and Brominated flame retardants are some of the chemicals added to plastic products. In spite of the several problems associated with plastic bags, retail shops continue to use them since they are cheap to produce and are extremely durable and handy. They are also light weight and easy to carry which makes them extremely popular. Plastic Bag Ban-History In the last few decades several studies had focused on the adverse effects that plastic bag usage has had on the environment and on the health of humans and animals. Plastic bans have been the most popular carrying medium among U.S. citizens. Plastic bags are primarily produced by the burning of the fossil fuels. Almost 12 million barrels of oil is required for production of plastic bags in the U.S. alone ((Equinox Centre, 2013). But, the global prevalence of plastic bags included the long life span of plastic bags, littering of bags in streams and waters, large amount of bag waste and several harmful impacts of plastic bags. The realization of the adverse impact that a single plastic bag has on the environment, initiated the call for ban on usage of plastic bags. Effects of Plastic Bags While being used plastic bags may seem quite harmless but the real trouble emerges when they are dumped. The average lifespan of a bag is 1000 years and during this time period the plastic bag has profound effect on the environment where it is present. Dumped, non-biodegradable plastic bags have several bad effects on the surroundings, ecosystem and on the health and well being of all organisms. Impact on Environment One of the prime reasons that plastic bags need to be banned is the ill-effects it has on our environment. Plastics have become an environmental burden. Researchers have found millions of tonnes of plastic in the Great pacific Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean. In 1999 a study was conducted on samples of the Pacific Ocean which determined that 6 times more plastic molecules were present in the waters than planktons (Garbage and Recycling, 2012). Hundreds of tonnes of plastic bags are merely thrown away along with the daily waste generated from households. However the bags in the litter are not naturally degradable and hence they remain in the litter for long periods of time. In some cases, the bags find their ways into the waterways and cause several bad affects on the ocean ecology especially by harming the marine animals. The bags that dumped also adversely affect the land. Since degradation is almost negligible, land littered with plastic bags is very much harmful for organism and plants alike. It is possible that toxic chemicals from these plastic bags can seep into the ground and contaminate the ground water and subsequently harm human health. It is also known that most of the plastic nags end up in landfills where they are attacked by microbial action. The action of microbes on these bags released green house gases which are responsible for the phenomenon of global warming and hence plastic bags indirectly enhance the production of the GHGs. Impact on Wildlife Even though plastic bags may seem like a boon to humans it poses a grave threat to life of wildlife and livestock. According to a study, about 143 species in Botswana were killed or injured by plastic bags either by entanglement, suffocation or direct ingestion (Dikgang and Visser, 2013).Several turtle die after ingesting plastic bags floating in the waters because they look like jellyfishes. In 2008 in Queensland, Australia a crocodile was reported to be dead after ingesting plastic bag which had compacted in the stomach of the reptile and t was unable to digest any of its other food (Wescott, 2010). Sea birds also run the risk of being affected. Sea birds often ingest plastics or get entangled in them. Sea birds such the Northern Fulmar is used to monitor the plastic waste in sea today. The UNEP claims that millions of sea birds, hundreds of marine animals and countless fishes face the adverse impacts of plastic bags dumped in the sea (European Commission,2011). More Impacts Several chemicals are present in the plastic and none of them are inert. There lies possibility that these chemicals have toxic potential. The toxic monomers of the plastic compounds also are known to have negative effects on the health of humans. The plastic compounds have been linked to cancer and reproductive failure among humans (European Commission, 2011). National and International take on Plastic Bag usage reduction The growing environmental concern and with wide spread awareness government of different states as well as of different countries have adopted measures to tackle the growing problem of plastic bag usage and management of plastic waste. The government of various states and countries have realised that since natural biodegradation of plastic bags is impossible hence waste management emerges as a problem. Moreover, dumping of plastic bags in the environment has become problematic to different species and in some cases also causes severe health problems in humans as well. Additionally, plastic bags are toxic and can potentially contaminate ground water. Hence, the administrative agencies have realised the need to reduce and stop the usage of plastic bags. However, most states and countries have not implemented a total ban. In California, 85 municipalities have adopted a ban on plastic bags and single used plastic bags (SUPB) are charged which discourages usage of SUPBs and increase usage re-use of bags (Equinox centre, 2013). Ban on plastic bags had also been sought by the cities of San Jose, Santa Monica and Los Angeles which decreased usage of SUPB and increased usage of reusable bags by 40% and also led to the increase of paper bag usage by almost 16% (Equinox centre, 2013). Botswana, also passed the plastic bag tax in order to control usage of plastic bags in the region. Other countries which have also targeted the consumers of plastic bags are Ireland and South Africa (Dikgang and Visser, 2013). The Welsh Assembly introduced $0.10 charge on per piece of plastic carry bag in the year 2011 (Wescott, 2010). Management and recycling of plastic bags Plastic bags are not biodegradable and hence they need to be properly management to mitigate their adverse effects on the environment. Management of plastic waste differs from one country to another and from one region to another depending on the implementation of laws and introduction of waste management programs. Recycling is often done by several companies since the plastic bags are not degradable. Plastic bags are also potential harmful and in most cases cannot be recycled. In the recycling centres these bags cause major problems since they can get stuck in the machinery and cause the machines to stop working. Hence, the bags are collected and sorted out(McGillivray and Ferron,2013). If the companies were to really re-cycle these bags it would mean more investment in modern machinery which would not get easily clogged by plastic bags. Since advance technologies come at high prices more monetary investment would be needed. However owing to lack of such facility, the bags are either shipped off or sent for composting. In some recycling facilities such as Kirkland’s curbside yard waste or other recycling facilities the plastic bags are not accepted. In composting facilities where other wastes are composted, the plastic bags are looked upon as toxic contaminant along the organic materials. In fact plastic bags that enter the system get automatically rejected (McGillivray and Ferron,2013). .Hence no recycling or composting facility recycles these bags which end up as rejects and are shipped to land filling sites. Other Management Programs Other management programs include bag-take back programs which are today one of the best ways to recycle plastic bags from grocery shopping. The bags are collected and sent off to recycling centres where the bags owing to the problems it causes in the machinery is rejected and ultimately ends up in landfills. .Opposing Views- Why Plastic Bag must not be banned Like every argument, the banning of plastics also has several counter arguments according to which even though the banning of plastic bags may enhance the health of the environment it would also increase the use of re-usable bags which in turn has several negative effects of its own. The first problem with the usage of reusable bags is its capability to harbour food borne pathogens. According to a study conducted in San Francisco, where researchers investigated the rate of food borne pathogens before and after banning of plastics was implemented in the region, showed that the rate of food-borne disease increased almost 5.5 time after reusable bags were brought into use (Equinox Centre, 2013). In another study conducted by University of Arizona, the microbial colonies in the reusable bags were investigated. The researchers confirmed the presence of harmful microbes such as E.coli and Salmonella. Most microbes were present since the bags were never washed between usages and were used to carry meat products (Klick and Wright, 2012). Another problem with the banning of plastics is that the people hailing from lower income backgrounds would not have the means to pay extra for reusable bags. Moreover, Plastic Bans will also result in loss of jobs for thousands of workers currently employed in plastic factories. Some people are of the opinion that the instances of theft may also increase if reusable bags were allowed. Shoplifters will be easily able to hide articles they do not pay for and since the reusable bags may not checked there are chances that shoplifting might also increase (McGillivray and Ferron,2013). Potential solutions- What are other solutions to reduce plastic bags? It is extremely important for the general public to understand the need for interventions. Introduction of disincentives by the government on consumers of plastics will help in reducing the usage of plastics and increase reuse of plastic bags. This may be in form of levying taxes on people purchasing plastic bags (European Commission, 2011). Plastic bag producing companies need to be encouraged to produce bags of micron sizes above the permitted level and levy fines on those companies which disobey the ruling and produce non-biodegradable and non-recyclable plastic bags. In order to tackle the plastic bag problems that are already present in the environment cleaning up projects need to be introduced. Local communities and fishing communities should be involved in monitoring and removal of plastic bags from the environment. In addition to this, awareness campaigns and general awareness also need to be conducted in order to make people aware of the consequences of using plastic bags and introduce alternatives to plastics as well. There exist several cheaper and environment friendly alternative to plastic bags. These alternatives which include jute bags and paper bags are biodegradable in nature and hence pose negligible threat to ecology and wildlife. Green bags are yet another alternative and are made from polypropelene which are reusable and can carry more products than the average plastic bag. Low density polyethylene bags are now being produced and are manufactured for departmental stores and other retail outlets and unlike the high volume form they are much more environment friendly as well. (Wescott, 2010). Conclusion Plastic bags especially those that are meant for one time sue only are not easily degraded in nature. Bags lie in the ground for several decades resulting in adverse impacts on its surroundings. The bags are sometime seven fatal for humans and wild animals. The chemicals present in the bags may cause health problems such as cancer and other associated problems. Even marine animals and land animals suffer the consequences of improper management of plastic bags. In the U.S. the greatest consumers of these plastic bags are the grocery stores since they have the widest outreach among the general public. In spite of the counter arguments that are put against the banning of plastics one needs to understand that not banning plastics has deeper and far serious implication on our environment as a whole and therefore calls for immediate action and drastic reduction in the usage of plastic bags. Instead, cheaper alternatives need to advertise to help people ban plastic and use the alternative form of bags and help make restore the health of the environment. REFERENCES Dikgang,J. And Visser, M.” Behavioral Response to Plastic Bag Legislation in Botswana.” Environment for Development-Discussion paper series. (2013).Retrieved from http://www.rff.org/rff/documents/EfD-DP-10-13.pdf European Commission.”Plastic Waste:Ecological and Human health impacts.”Science for Environemnt Policy.(2011).Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/IR1_en.pdf Equinox Centre.” Plastic Bag Bans:Analysis of Economic and Environmental Impacts.”(2013).Retrieved from http://www.equinoxcenter.org/assets/files/Plastic%20Bag%20Ban%20Web%20Version%2010-22-13%20CK.pdf Garbage and Recycling.” Plastic Bags Are a Huge Waste Problem and Should Be Banned.”(2012).Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/DocumentToolsPortletWindow?displayGroupName=Viewpoints&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE|EJ3010301226&userGroupName=vol_m761m&zid=72b6444d22fcf1de0f7dc1066c0cea65. Klick,J. and Wright,J. “Grocery Bag Bans and Foodborne Illness.”(2012).Retrieved from http://www.utexas.edu/law/wp/wp-content/uploads/centers/clbe/klick_grocery_bags_and_foodborne_illness.pdf McGillivray.J. and Ferron,K. “Plastic Bag Staff Report.”City of Kirkland,Washinton.(2013).Retrieved from http://www.kirklandwa.gov/Assets/Plastic+Bag+Staff+Report.pdf Westcott,M.” Plastic Shopping Bags.” Queensland.(2010). ISBN 978-1-921056-89-5. Retrieved from http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/explore/ResearchPublications/ResearchBriefs/2010/RBR201028.pdf Read More