Plastic takes a long time to degrade, and plastic bags specifically can take up to 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill. Given the significant environmental impacts of plastic bags, it is. Impact of national bans and levies on plastic bag usage. In recent years, local and national governments have begun phasing out. Plastic bags when consumed along with food by animals, cause harm to their life. Discarded bags can spread malaria if they collect rainwater, offering mosquitos a casual breeding ground. Much is due to the nature of plastic itself, which often can only be downcycled rather than recycled a torn plastic bag might eventually be transformed into a lunch tray, but it will. Lets take a look at the positive and negative effects of plastic. Sep 17, 2012 disposable plastic bags are an environmental problem for several reasons. There is no way to strictly limit the effects of plastic bags on the environment because there is no disposal method. Pollution and environmental damage trees act as a carbon sink by removing the carbon from co 2 and storing it as cellulose in the trunk while releasing the oxygen back into the air.
Paper bags or cloth bags should be used for carrying goods as. Secondly, research on the harmful effects that plastic waste may cause often. An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags. Whats more, more terrible, the ingested plastic pack stays in place even after the passing and decay of the creature. Assessment of impacts of options to reduce the use of singleuse. The harmful effects of plastic on human health and the. But some reports suggest the rule has been difficult to enforce. The most effective approach may be to combine a waste prevention. Count the plastic bags brought into your home in a week. Environmental effects plastic bags cause over 100,000 sea turtle and other marine animal deaths every year when animals mistaken them for food the manufacture of plastic bags add tonnes of carbon emissions into the air annually. Altkleider image by marem from polythene bags, commonly known as plastic bags, are popular packaging materials.
Hazard to children polythene bags can be dangerous to children. Danger to animal life, especially when they find their way into the sea. The harmful effects of using plastic are as follows. The plastic produce bags and flimsy grocery bags you may be used to getting at the grocery store are destroying our environment. Factories that make plastic have to make tons of them every day because people ask for plastic bags in shopping malls, grocery stores, everywhere. Second, they do not quickly and harmlessly biodegade, and du. Oct 09, 2014 to reduce plastic waste and negative effects, recycling programs have been implemented in many parts of the united states, but remain underutilized. But, most of us are blissfully unaware of the repercussions that are occurring and. A field survey of the city of sanaa and the surrounding areas, yemen. Poly bag and capitol poly, were instrumental in the manufacturing, marketing and perfecting of plastic bags in the 1980s. Although plastic bags make up only a small percentage of all litter, the impact of these bags is nevertheless significant. Plastic buried in soil can release a toxic chemical which mixes into the ground making it harmful for agriculture and human use, it can also seep into the ground and mix with groundwater.
Effect of plastic grocery bags on environment and its reuse. Plastic bags are non biodegradable materials which take almost 1,000 years to decompose causing serious harmful effects on our environment. Taiwan has banned both plastic bags and plastic utensils. The harmful effects of plastic bags every once in a while the government passes out an order banning shop keepers from providing plastic bags to customers for carrying their purchases, with little lasting effect. Plastic bags drifting through the wind have many references in popular culture. Finally, analysis of the detrimental effects that plastic bags have on animals and their habitats will finalize the portion of our project that focuses on pollution. Industrial development of fossil fuels into a wide array of plastics changed formulations in everything from insulation to mechanicals to paint, and plastic is still a ubiquitous component of every building assembly. The bags get tangled around animal necks, legs, etc. Despite the fact that plastic containers carry a recycling logo, many are in fact not recyclable, according to, a sustainableliving information portal. Due to the toxic chemical composition of plastic bags, its exposure causes illnesses like birth defects, cancer, and other systemic illness. Two major methods that release toxic chemicals of plastic bags are by burning and throwing. Apr 01, 2016 there were 5020% participants reusing the plastic bags for shopping after usage and out of these 50 participants 3320.
Once they become litter, plastic bags find their way into our waterways, parks, beaches, and streets. This paper studies the implementation process behind rwandas plastic bag ban introduced in. Plastic bags are quite commonly mistaken for food by animals, especially when the bags carry food residues, are brightly coloured or are animated by the movement of water. Replace harmful plastic bags with these ecological bags. 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. Write the harmful effects of using plastic bags, on the environment.
Most of our knowledge is around plastic waste in the marine environment, although there is research that indicates that plastic waste in landfill and in badly managed recycling systems could be having. The impact of plastic bags on the environment greentumble. Positive and negative effects of plastic my daily alerts. The effects of plastic bags on environment healthguidance. Even though they are one of the modern conveniences that we seem to be unable to do without, they are responsible for causing pollution, killing wildlife, and using up. In beginning the journey towards a plasticfree lifestyle, one of the first areas to focus on is your shopping habits. Paper bags are heavier and take up more space than plastic bags so fewer bags fit on a truck, translating into more fuel used to transport paper bags than plastic. Assessing the impact of the complete ban on plastic carry bag. To lesser down the effects of plastics on the environment, other ecological bags like paper and cloth fabric bags were in the option. Harmful effects of plastic bags the harmful effects of plastic bags are numerous and it affects human, all living organisms, soil, water, air, and the entire ecosystem. What are the effects of plastic bags on environment answers. It cost more to recycle a bag than to produce a new one. The paper focuses on the sustainable agricultural and economic development in malaysia and other countries by finding out alternatives to the use of ever harmful plastic bags. Environmental impacts the environmental impacts of plastic bag use include.
They are so inexpensive and convenient that most households use them. On an average, a person uses 200,000 plastic bags in hisher lifetime. This makes the water unhealthy for human consumption and agricultural use. Five reasons why our plastic bag habit is bad telegraph. Plastic is also very light and it is resistant to the chemicals. Singleuse disposable plastic bags are suffocating the planet, with 60,000 plastic bags being consumed in the u. Polythene bags eventually break down into small particles resembling plankton, one of the main animal food sources. Plastic bags are very popular with both retailers as well as consumers because they are cheap, strong, lightweight. They are made using nonrenewable resources, either petroleum or. Environmental effects in the united states the paper industry is the largest user, per ton of product, of industrial process water and the third largest industrial consumer of energy. Plastic bag pollution by sharon jacobsen every year, around 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. The harmful effects of plastic bags are numerous and it affects human, all living organisms, soil, water, air, and the entire ecosystem.
Harmful effects of single use plastic bags on our environment and the solution. Using plastic bags and its damaging impact on environment and agriculture conference paper pdf available december 2011 with 17,315 reads how we measure reads. Consumer product safety commission, every year about 25 children in. Plastic bags are almost not biodegradable, since they do not decompose during the time span of human lives. Qlwlrqri3odvwlf plastic is an organic material manufactured from petroleum derivatives. Jan 10, 2018 even in urban areas, where wildlife is relatively scarce, plastic bags cause significant environmental harm. Plastic bags are nonbiodegradable, so, they pollute the environment. As of august 2010, between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are being used each year worldwide. Bags in the soil can snag root systems and cause damage.
It is not only the responsibility of a particular government to start imposing bans on using plastic bags. Many animals, including whales, dolphins, turtles, penguins, and dolphins, ingest plastic bags as they mistake them food. Dec, 2016 china, which banned many types of plastic bags in 2008, claims some successes. Positive and negative effects of plastic essay and speech. Moreover, recycling of plastic is uneconomical, polluting and labour intensive. Even though they are one of the modern conveniences that we seem to be unable to do without, they are responsible for causing pollution, killing wildlife, and using up the precious resources of the earth. During the year 2008 in the united states, paper and paperboard accounted for the largest portion 34 percent of the municipal waste stream, and 25 percent of. The effects of plastic bags on the environment are really quite devastating. Plastic bags kill wildlife, clog waterways and pack landfills. There were 5020% participants reusing the plastic bags for shopping after usage and out of these 50 participants 3320. Plastic bags are one of those things that have been slowly working their way into our lives, and not in a constructive way. They are related to the temperature constraint and can be used to only a specific range.
But along with its advantages, there are lot of disadvantages of plastic too. When we actually count the number of bags we bring in weekly, it can spur us to take action. In spite of knowing this fact, indiscriminate use of plastic bags has left us nowhere. Sometimes plastic such as polythene bags, get buried under the soil, this makes the soil toxic. The real reason that the worlds landfills werent overflowing with plastic was because most of it ended up in an ocean fill u.
Plastic bags are widely used for carrying purchases for they are lightweight, strong, cheap, functional, and also hygienic. Jul 24, 2012 houston community college systems central campus speech 11 fundamental of speech summer ii 2012 the harmful effects of plastic bags presented by. Kroger, a cincinnatibased grocery chain in usa, began to replace its other paper shopping bags with plastic bags in 1982. Raise public awareness about the harm caused by singleused plastics. We should encourage the use of reusable bags that are very durable.
Harmful effects from use of polythene bags health faq. Using plastic bags and its damaging impact on environment and. Runoff water collects and carries discarded plastic bags and ultimately washes them into storm sewers. Animals, mainly marine life whose natural diet includes jellyfish, are prone to eat plastic bags. Whether you burn or throw plastic bags, all the chemicals are released which can cause harm to the society. Write the harmful effects of using plastic bags, on the. Once in these sewers, the bags often form clumps with other types of debris, and ultimately block the flow of water. Harmful effects of plastic a sea change in building technology arrived in the 1950s with the age of plastic. From a vegetable vendor to a designer store, everyone seems to use them. For example, whales and sea turtles often mistake plastic bags for squid, and birds often mistake plastic pellets for fish eggs. Plastic bags pollution effects and solutions green.
We need to educate people about the harmful impact of plastic bags on our environment. When plastics breakdown in soil they release harmful chemicals, like bisphenol a bpa, that can harm natural microorganisms that. Once they are used, most plastic bags go into landfill, or rubbish tips. Plastic bags are very popular with both retailers as well. Decline plastic bags at the checkout counter and remind the cashier and others around you. Here are some of the harmful effects of plastic bags. A new beginning royalty free music from bensound sites used for information. Effects of plastic pollution organic 4 greenlivings. What are the effects of plastic bags on the environment. From katy perrys song fireworks to a random episode of family guy, somehow a mindless act of a piece of plastic being tossed around in the blowing wind has made an impression on todays culture.
These bags can be used for hundreds of times before they need to be disposed of. In this article we highlight 15 harmful effects of plastic bags, cutting across social, economic, health, and ecological aspects of life. We are on a slow but steady course of destruction of our environment and some seem to be unperturbed about it. So many that over one million bags are being used every minute and theyre damaging our environment. The need to implement various measures to save planet earth has become even more urgent as we continue to inch towards an obvious disaster that we have created for ourselves. Plastic bags find their origin in a variety of places. We can help these factories by giving back the unused plastic bags in our house this is called recycling.
Plastic is one of the most used material these days. Academics have measured consumer behavior and public opinion on plastic bags in many countries, including turkey, uganda and canada. The negative effects of plastic have been mentioned as follows. Due to the toxic chemical composition of plastic bags, its exposure causes illnesses like birth defects, cancer, and other systemic illness plastic bags also affect animals, birds, and aquatic organisms. This bag type is made of natural polymers, either starch or a blend of. Harmful effects of plastic bags on plants even plants are not protected from the harm caused by bags.
Plastic bags create visual pollution problems and can have harmful effects on aquatic and terrestrial animals. Chemical migration from plastic packaging into contents people are exposed to these chemicals not only during manufacturing, but also by using plastic packages, because some chemicals migrate from the plastic packaging to the foods they contain. Disposable plastic bags are an environmental problem for several reasons. Floating plastic waste can survive for dozens of centuries and disrupt habitats by shuttling microbes to and fro. Jun 14, 2007 the bags get tangled around animal necks, legs, etc. Positive and negative impacts of existing plastic bag bans.
Each year more and more plastic bags are ending up littering the environment. Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles e. There are various ways on how plastic bags can harm the health of humans and the entire environment. Perhaps most ominously, plastics buried in landfills can leach. The impact of plastic bags on the environment is enormous. Due to the problems associated with singleuse plastic bags and following signing of legislation related to plastic bags1, governor cuomo convened the new york state plastic bag task force in february 2017 to develop a report and proposed legislation to address the detrimental impact of plastic bags on the states environment. Even after animals bodies decompose, the plastic bags stay intact, and another animal can get hurt. Pdf on feb 19, 2020, sozan najib and others published adverse effects of. Pdf using plastic bags and its damaging impact on environment. This is a video on how plastic bags affect the environment. Details about the harmful effects of plastic bags answers. See the adverse health effects grid for a list of commonly used plastics and their known health effects.
The impacts of plastic waste on our health and the environment are only just becoming apparent. The plastic bag ban has now became a part of growing environmental movement that began in march 2007, when san francisco became the first north american city to ban nonrecyclable plastic bags made from petroleum. Around 100,000 creatures, for example, dolphins, turtles, whales, penguins are murdered each year because of these bags. Plastic bags pollution effects and solutions green living. Beyond energy and climate impacts, the persistence of plastic bags in the environment. Harmful effects from use of polythene bags healthy living. Harmful effects of plastics on health and environment h. The negative economic impact of visible plastic carrier bag litter on coastal and. Five reasons why our plastic bag habit is bad as new figures show britons took home 8. First, they are manufactured from oil, creating further demand for environmentally damaging oil extraction.
Harmful effects of plastic waste disposal sciencing. We humans have some unfathomable affinity with our comfort zones and procrastination. Decline plastic bags at the checkout counter and remind the cashier and others around you that plastic bags hurt the environment. Plastic bags also affect animals, birds, and aquatic organisms. However, their unique properties make up their usage in various types and forms.
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