More on the Plastic Bag
The plastic shopping bag that is so common at stores is becoming one of the most insidious environmental problems. That’s the case the world over.
World consumers use a half a trillion new bags each year — or nearly one million per minute. Only 80 percent are recycled, leaving 200,000 a minute to infest our world.
The United States alone uses 100 billion new bags each year, using about 12 million barrels of oil in the manufacturing process. With the petroleum used to produce only 14 bags, one could drive the average car one mile.
So what it so terrible about these plastic shopping bags? They do not biodegrade. In fact, each bag can last up to 1,000 years.
The bags are easily transported by winds and can end up decorating trees along the highway and in the wetlands. They are driven by wind and water currents into streams, lakes and oceans, where they float indefinitely.
More than 100,000 marine animals die each year when they mistake the bags for food and ingest them. Toxins in the plastic affect the immune system of those that don’t die. That means fewer healthy sea turtles, whales, seals, dolphins and puffins.
The problem is worldwide. People in Africa have begun to harvest windblown bags and use them to weave hats and other items. One group has documented they harvest 30,000 each month that have been trapped in the bush. Taiwan has banned plastic shopping bags.
Ireland has a 15 cent tax on the bags that is responsible for reducing consumption by 90 percent.
And what about the old question: “Will that be paper or plastic?” Is paper really a better alternative? The answer is yes and no. Paper is biodegradable and will eventually break down. But it actually takes more oil to fuel the processes needed to make a paper bag than one of plastic. Also, trees have to be cut down to make paper bags. Trees are important for cleaning the air of pollutants, and for producing oxygen.
So what is an environmentally conscious consumer to do? Recycle. If your town does not recycle bags, check with your local recycling coordinator — the bags are No. 2 plastic, the same as milk jugs. Also, check the grocery stores, as some will recycle their own bags.
A much better option is to take reusable bags with you when shopping for groceries, produce, sundries, hardware, virtually anything. Canvas ones have been available for years, but now bags made from recycled materials are for sale in the large chain grocery stores. Keep them in the car so they are always at hand.