Plastic Bags-An Environment Detroiter

Plastic is widely used in our day to day life. Starting from a pen to a polythene bag in which we carry groceries and clothes are form of plastic. Plastic bags are a major contributor of environment Detroiter. We all know that the effects of plastic bags on the environment are really quite devastating. While there are many objections to the banning of plastic bags based solely on their convenience, the damage to the environment needs to be controlled. There is no way to strictly limit the effects of plastic bags on the environment because there is no disposal method that will really help eliminate the problem.

Many countries have banned the use of plastic bags in order to ensure a clean and green environment. Our country has also banned the use of plastic bags in many states. However, the implementation of this rule hasn’t been proper. These are still used in the market. But ironically, even knowing the hazards of plastic bags we demand for the poly bag while shopping.It is the time when we have to understand the severity of the issue and stop the use of plastic bags. Plastic bags have become a major part of plastic pollution. Disposing it is a big challenge today. Burning the plastic bag produces poisonous gas which is very harmful to us.

Some facts about Plastic Bags-

1. Every second 160,000 plastic bags are used around the world.

2. The amount of petroleum it takes to produce one plastic bag could drive a car 11 meters.

3. 267 different species of animals have been affected by marine debris (Human created waste).

4. If we joined all the plastic bags in the world together, they would circumnavigate the globe 4,200 times.

5. 100,000 marine animals are killed by plastic bags annually.

The premise of recycling the plastic bags is nice. Yet funding for the up gradation of the recycling units has just not happened and thus less than 1% of all bags are sent to recycling plants worldwide. Most are left to become a pollution problem in one way or another. There are always alternatives to plastic bags and the search for more alternatives continues. Paper bags are possible option but they also take their toll on the environment. The use of trees to increase the production of paper products will also have a negative environmental affect.