Plastic Bags Waste Management - Coursework Example

Plastic Bags Waste Management Name Course Institution Date Plastic bags waste management Introduction Plastic bags are an environmental pollution since they take a long time to degrade. As Daven and Klein (2008) explain, plastic bags take around 1000 years to decompose. This illustrates that plastic bags must be well managed failure to which they can take a long period of time passing on their detrimental effects to the environment and the living things around them. The destructive effects of waste plastic bags to the environment if passed on to human beings can cause serious harm that could even result to death. According to Daven and Klein (2008), the extensive floods that plagued Bangladesh in 1998 caused massive deaths that led to the country banning use of plastic bags in the year 2002. The cause of the deaths was attributed to waste plastic bags blocking drains and gutters thus leading to over flooding since water could not leave the city through the underground drainage systems. Plastic bags do also cause deaths in livestock if mistakenly eaten by these animals and can also cause diseases such as malaria due to the breeding of mosquitoes on the stagnant pools of water that result due to clogged sewer pipes. However, plastic paper bags have various useful purposes and despite their destructive effects, their disposal should be managed rather than banning their production and usage. The essay evaluates plastic bags production, use and waste management with special focus to Australian perspective. The Australian Plastic Waste Management Perspective The Australian plastic bags industry is very vibrant. Production and usage of plastic bags is very high. The plastic bags market comprises of branded, non-branded, high density and low density varieties of plastics bags, with a high percentage of the high density plastic bags being available through importation while the low density ones are availed through local manufacturing. The high density plastic bags constitute 80% of the Australian plastic bags consumption with low density plastic bags forming the remaining 20% of total consumption since they are majorly use for luxurious purposes. As Grant and Verghese (2009) clearly exhibit, the annual consumption of plastic bags in Australia equals 3.92 billion plastic bags, with 3.76 billion of these plastic bags ending up in landfills every year. A finer analysis of this waste equates to 429,000 plastic bags ending up in landfills every single hour in Australia. The increased proliferation of the high density plastic bags into the Australian market and environment is owed to the fact that the plastic bags are cheap and as such most wholesale chains and supermarkets issue them at free to all customers buying goods from their major wholesale stores and supermarkets. Most of these customers are unaware of the detrimental effects of these plastic bags and they usually throw them away after use. The wind blows them away into the environment and others end up into rivers and local streams. Uyeda (2009) explains that an estimated 50 million of waste plastic bags end up into Australian rivers and streams each year. This is very dangerous as plastic bags are estimated to last between 20 to 1000 years and as such if they end up in water catchment areas they are likely to cause huge destruction since they are light and can be easily pushed to long distances by water leaving behind a trail of destruction as they move down river courses. Environmental impacts associated with use of plastic bags Neill, (2003) argues that, despite a plastic bag having a short useful life of approximately 12 minutes, it can take as long as 1000 years in the environment implying that it has a capability of causing significant harm in the environment if not taken good care of. Besides lasting long, plastic bags are light and as such are easily blown away by wind from the waste bins and landfills into the environment in which they pose various problems. Plastic bags are a threat to drainage systems as they cause clogging of the sewerage system and are a health hazard to children who may pick them up as they are being blown by wind to use them for playing purposes. Children may get contaminated with diseases as most of these plastic bags are used to carry wet and fluid-like substances used in most kitchens. The plastic bags that lie about as litter are likely to provide breeding nests for mosquitoes during rainy seasons hence posing risks of malaria contamination. In the marine environment, most sea birds and marine fishes confuse these plastic bags as food and once they take it, they die from indigestion. Neill (2003) reveals that it takes about 450 years for a plastic bag to disintegrate while in water. When these plastic bags finally break down into smaller particles while still in the water bodies, they may present health risks to human beings who may consume this contaminated water. Besides, when the plastic bags are blown off the landfills and waste bins, they destroy the beauty of the environment and domestic animals such as livestock are likely to consume it as food. They don’t dissolve after consumption by livestock and are likely to cause deaths due to blotting. It requires high embodied energy to manufacture plastic bags which essentially means that for the plastic bags to fully decompose, an equally high amount of energy will have to be released to the environment thus posing a high risk of global warming. Dealing with plastic bag waste management in Australia As a measure to manage the detrimental impacts of general waste to the eco system environment and the larger living things environment, the government of Australia set up a general waste cleanup Australia day. According to Uyeda (2009), the highest percentage of litter collected during the cleanup day consists of the plastic bags waste. The year 2009 data of the total litter collected, plastic waste formed 29% of the entire bulk with 17.6% of this plastic waste being constituted of plastic bags. That translated to 40 plastics bags being picked up at every collection site that on a finer analysis meant that 500 thousand plastic bags are cleaned up every year since the year 2009. In an effort to reduce the consumption of the high density plastic bags due to its increased pollution to the environment, the government of Australia, (through a recommendation from a 2002 Nolan-ITU report on plastic bags analysis on environmental impacts that ruled out the option of introducing a ban on the plastic bags), introduced a 15-30 percent levy on the plastic bags to reduce consumption of the bags. Besides, the government went into a legally binding commitment with major retailers to make a 25% reduction of plastic bags by the year end 2004 and a 50% reduction by the year end 2005. Moreover, the retailers were to make a 15% recycling of the plastic bags in store or a 30% recycling of the total of the bags they held in store combined with those collected through council Kerbside collections. These arrangements led to plastic bags consumption dropping from a 5.95 billion mark in the year end 2002 to 3.92 billion in the year end 2005 marking a 41-44% reduction in the plastic bag usage hence a similar percentage reduction in environmental impacts (Nolan ITU, 2005). The most recent developments in Australia pertaining to plastic bags management amongst the consumers, producers and importers include the legislative obligations for stewardship of the product. This entails that all stakeholders in the manufacture, importation and consumption of the plastic bags shall assume legal responsibility for the environmental impacts from such plastic bags. Nolan ITU 2002 argues that, due to lack of a constant and reliable guidance in Australia pertaining to plastic bags management, some towns and communities within Australia have opted to introduce bans on the usage of the bags. For example, plastic bags usage is banned in Coles Bay and in Victoria towns such as Murtoa, Metung and Cohuna. In South Australia, high density plastic bags have been banned but the low density ones are still in use. Conclusion Evidently, plastic bags are advantageous for various reasons. They are readily and conveniently used to wrap foods, to hold water and other liquids, can serve as an internal cover to bins use to collect rubbish besides being used as temporal roofing seals and to seal leaking taps. All this are supplemented by the fact that plastic bags can be re-used depending on the density of the material used to make the plastic bag. The major challenge that plastic bags pose to the environment is the fact that they cannot be biodegraded. This has led to major Asian countries banning their production on the basis that they cause a lot of environmental harm. However, plastic bags should not be banned but rather regulations governing production, use and disposal should be put in place and enforced. This is so because the damage to the environment is as a result of poor management and disposal of the material but not to the material itself. In this regard for example, Australia decided not to entirely ban the production and use of high density plastic bags since it would have a detrimental effect on employment and instead opted to reduce its usage. References Boersema, J. & Reijnders, L. 2009. Principles of environmental sciences. New York: Springer. Daven, J. & Klein, R. 2008. Progress in waste management research. New York: Nova Science Publishers. Hester, R. & Harrison, R. 2002. Environmental and health impact of solid waste management activities. Cambridge, U.K: Royal Society of Chemistry. Horne, R., Grant, T. & Verghese, K. 2009. Life cycle assessment : principles, practice, and prospects. Collingwood, Vic: CSIRO Pub. Nolan- ITU 2002, Plastic Shopping Bags- Analysis of Levies and Environmental Impacts, Melbourne. Nolan- ITU 2005, Plastic Retail Carry bag Use: 2002-2005 Consumption, Melbourne. ND 2009. Medical, municipal and plastic waste management handbook. Kamla Nagar, Delhi: National Institute of Industrial Research. Neill, T. 2003. Life cycle assessment and environmental impact of polymeric products. Shawbury, U.K: Rapra Technology Ltd. Stafford, M., Stumbaum, L., Cornell, K., Pike, K. & Rohr, I. 2006. Go facts : environmental issues. Glebe, NSW: Blake Education. Uyeda, C. 2009. Australian master environment guide. North Ryde, N.S.W: CCH Australia. Vaughn, J. 2009. Waste management : a reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. Wanna, J. 2009. Critical reflections on Australian public policy selected essays. Acton, A.C.T: ANU E Press. Read More

The increased proliferation of the high density plastic bags into the Australian market and environment is owed to the fact that the plastic bags are cheap and as such most wholesale chains and supermarkets issue them at free to all customers buying goods from their major wholesale stores and supermarkets. Most of these customers are unaware of the detrimental effects of these plastic bags and they usually throw them away after use. The wind blows them away into the environment and others end up into rivers and local streams.

Uyeda (2009) explains that an estimated 50 million of waste plastic bags end up into Australian rivers and streams each year. This is very dangerous as plastic bags are estimated to last between 20 to 1000 years and as such if they end up in water catchment areas they are likely to cause huge destruction since they are light and can be easily pushed to long distances by water leaving behind a trail of destruction as they move down river courses. Environmental impacts associated with use of plastic bags Neill, (2003) argues that, despite a plastic bag having a short useful life of approximately 12 minutes, it can take as long as 1000 years in the environment implying that it has a capability of causing significant harm in the environment if not taken good care of.

Besides lasting long, plastic bags are light and as such are easily blown away by wind from the waste bins and landfills into the environment in which they pose various problems. Plastic bags are a threat to drainage systems as they cause clogging of the sewerage system and are a health hazard to children who may pick them up as they are being blown by wind to use them for playing purposes. Children may get contaminated with diseases as most of these plastic bags are used to carry wet and fluid-like substances used in most kitchens.

The plastic bags that lie about as litter are likely to provide breeding nests for mosquitoes during rainy seasons hence posing risks of malaria contamination. In the marine environment, most sea birds and marine fishes confuse these plastic bags as food and once they take it, they die from indigestion. Neill (2003) reveals that it takes about 450 years for a plastic bag to disintegrate while in water. When these plastic bags finally break down into smaller particles while still in the water bodies, they may present health risks to human beings who may consume this contaminated water.

Besides, when the plastic bags are blown off the landfills and waste bins, they destroy the beauty of the environment and domestic animals such as livestock are likely to consume it as food. They don’t dissolve after consumption by livestock and are likely to cause deaths due to blotting. It requires high embodied energy to manufacture plastic bags which essentially means that for the plastic bags to fully decompose, an equally high amount of energy will have to be released to the environment thus posing a high risk of global warming.

Dealing with plastic bag waste management in Australia As a measure to manage the detrimental impacts of general waste to the eco system environment and the larger living things environment, the government of Australia set up a general waste cleanup Australia day. According to Uyeda (2009), the highest percentage of litter collected during the cleanup day consists of the plastic bags waste. The year 2009 data of the total litter collected, plastic waste formed 29% of the entire bulk with 17.

6% of this plastic waste being constituted of plastic bags. That translated to 40 plastics bags being picked up at every collection site that on a finer analysis meant that 500 thousand plastic bags are cleaned up every year since the year 2009. In an effort to reduce the consumption of the high density plastic bags due to its increased pollution to the environment, the government of Australia, (through a recommendation from a 2002 Nolan-ITU report on plastic bags analysis on environmental impacts that ruled out the option of introducing a ban on the plastic bags), introduced a 15-30 percent levy on the plastic bags to reduce consumption of the bags.

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