Use of Plastic Bags - an Environmental Hazard - Essay Example

?Use of Plastic Bags- An Environmental Hazard Introduction Plastic bags were first introduced in 1862 by Alexander Parkes at London’s Great International Exhibition). What Parkes presented was “an organic derivative of cellulose that could be molded when heated and then maintained its shape upon cooling” (Lajeunesse 2004), was then used in the production of plastic bags which are being widely used in our everyday lives. The use of high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic grocery shopping bags has given rise to many environmental hazards. This paper intends to discuss the problems associated with the use of plastic bags and what can be done to rectify these problems. 2. Plastic Bags All Over Plastic bags have been able to make our lives easier. They have various remarkable properties due to which people prefer using them as compared to paper bags. Their production is cheaper. These are light weight, easy to carry around, cost-efficient and durable, and the consumer as such does not see any harm using them in packing their stuff. We use them during our shopping spree. We put eatables in them and put them in our refrigerators. We store things in them so that they remain safe for years. We line our bathroom bins with them. Plastic bags are all over our environment. We see plastic bags blowing around on streets and in the waters. We see them clustered together at a place blocking the sewage lines. And we see people collecting their litter in the plastic bags and throwing them in garbage cans. 3. Problems with the usage of Plastic Bags 3.1. Damage to the Environment Often, we see someone collecting plastic bags and burning them. But do they disappear? No, and this is what is the biggest problem with these plastic bags. They do not disappear and they cannot be recycled into something else. They are made up of polyethylene which is a non-degradable material and just changes its shape when burnt but does not change its form. It is believed that a plastic bag takes thousands of years to decay entirely. So, it continues to be present in our surroundings as a permanent problem. The hitch actually arises when people do not dispose of the plastic bags properly. This is this unethical disposal that becomes the real trouble for the environment. “6.9 billion bags” are used in the world every year, and almost “30 million” of them end up clustering at dumpsites per year (James & Grant 2005:1). The aesthetic view of the surroundings also gets spoiled. 3.2. Air Pollution Burning them at dumpsites eliminates hazardous chemicals such as dioxins and furans, which get inhaled by people thus damaging their health. Since these chemicals are toxic, they pose threats to the human body and give rise to diseases resulting from air pollution. Dioxins and furans are chemicals which are believed to destroy the purity of air and this fact is internationally accepted. 3.3. Hazards for Sea Life With increase in the usage of plastic bags, the marine environment is being forced to accept increased quantities of plastic debris. When the used plastic bags get clustered over rivers and seas, they become a hazard for marine mammals, fish, seabirds, crustaceans and turtles that ingest them or get entangled, and then die because of suffocation. “Ingested plastics may block digestive tracts, damage stomach linings, or lessen feeding drives” (Laist 2006:319). 3.4. Suffocation Plastic bags have also been found of being responsible for taking lives of many infants who put them on their faces and inside their mouths or nostrils, and may die of suffocation because plastic bags are air-tight. 3.5. Blockage of Drainage System Plastic bags can also block the drainage system which damages sanitation. Dirty water starts oozing out of the drains on the streets and into the houses in cities where drainage system is already not properly implemented. Flies and mosquitoes breed in this water and then they bring dirt onto the eatables which when digested by human beings makes them ill with diseases like cholera, typhoid, diarrhea, and hepatitis. 3.6. Non-renewable Plastic bags are made of petro-chemicals which are non-renewable. Thus, plastic bags cannot be recycled into a new product which is why they remain to exist for hundreds and thousands of years. 4. Solution 4.1. Degradable Plastic Bags James and Grant (2005: 2) affirm that plastic bags when made from biodegradable polymers will pose fewer damages to the environment as they replace non-renewable sources with renewable ones like starch and maize. The degradable polymers will break down under the chemical reactions due to sunlight or water; or, “by bacterial (biodegradable), thermal (oxidative) or ultraviolet (photodegradable) action” (James & Grant). The degradable polymers should have high tensile strength, high puncture and tear resistance, and their physical properties should resemble these of high-density or low-density polyethylene. Also, they should be able to breakdown in less than three months leaving no toxic residue behind. 4.2. Paper Bags Another solution is leaving the use of plastic bags and replacing them with paper bags. Anantula states that plastic bag ban has become necessary, and China is the latest country which has announced this ban recently (2008). The most appropriate alternative is paper bags but they will not be cost-efficient for both the producers and consumers. Shapiro and Marona (2000:405) state that since paper is made from trees which are a renewable resource, thus it is not harmful for the environment. According to them, “paper also degrades easily, and thus reduces waste in the landfills…even in the production process, paper is cleaner” since it does not eliminate toxins and fuels. Paper bags can also be recycled. 5. Conclusion Although plastic bags offer many advantages for the end-users; still, they are more hazardous to the natural environment than beneficial. They are dangerous for human beings as they add to the air and water pollution. Aquatic life is equally at stake. Plastic bags eliminate toxins when they are burnt which is dangerous for health. Thus, there is a need to invent solutions that can replace plastic bags. Biodegradable plastic bags are one solution; however, many countries have been putting a total ban on the usage of plastic bags considering the hazards they produce in the environment. References Anantula, S 2008, World is Green, viewed 10 March 2011, James, K & Grant, T 2005, LCA of Degradable Plastic Bags, viewed 10 March 2011, Laist, D.W 2006, ‘Overview of the biological effects of lost and discarded plastic debris in the marine environment’, Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 319-326. Lajeunesse, S 2004, ‘Science and technology’, Chemical and Engineering News, viewed 10 March 2011, Shapiro, M & Marona, S 2000, ACT Testbuster -- REA's Testbuster for the ACT, illustrated edn., USA, Research & Education Assoc. Read More