Plastic bags are useful tools to use and have other benefits as well. This is a statement that is up for debate. Many people disagree with the statement that plastic bags are useful. The question is whether or not that is true. American stores offer both plastic and reusable bags, but when customers go through a line and say he or she wants a plastic bag, he or she might get a disgusted look. For most stores plastic bags are now frowned upon. The stores want their customer to use the reusable bags that the store offers them to purchase. Throughout the article Plastic Bags Are good for You, Mangu Ward goes back a forth of weather or not the bags are good. Mangu-Ward explains the cause and effects of which plastic and reusable bags have based …show more content…
Throughout the country one might find themselves seeing a plastic bag floating around or even stuck in a tree. This is a problem that most want to eliminate. A topic that Mangu-Ward writes about is the problem of plastic bags in marine life and other wildlife. For people the thought of animals dying angers them. These decisions that people are making currently are emotional decision as Mangu-Ward describes them. Many marine life animals have died from the cause of littering of the plastic bag. Mangu-Ward writes, “plastic bags make up 3.8 percent of beach litter”. Finding fish, turtles, and many more marine and wildlife animals with plastic bags either suck around their necks or in their throats is something that many do not like to see or hear. This evidence can also be supported when Mangu-Ward writes, “1 million birds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die each year from eating or getting entangled in plastic”. Mangu-Ward is currently giving evidence that plastic bags are bad for the …show more content…
The solution is thought to be the use of reusable bags. Reusable bags are an item that stores offer to the customers to use rather than plastic bags. Reusable bags are typically made out of some type of fabric. The title of the bags gives the main purpose of what they are capable of doing. Along with helping the environment, reusable bags also make it so that people can use them as many times as he or she wants to. Also some stores even offer an incentive with discounts off he or shes bill for using the reusable bags as
The article Plastic bags are Good for you, by Katherine Mangu-Ward was written to explore the pro’s and con’s of three different types of bags. Which is better between plastic, paper, or reusable bags has always been a debatable question with an opinionated answer. In the article Mangu-Ward characterizes the cause and effect relationships which have lead to the unpopularity of plastic bags in terms of guilt.
Trash in the ocean is becoming a major issue because it contaminates the water and in turn, harms sea creatures. The trash in the ocean is dangerous for sea creatures because they are similar to death traps. Trash, such as plastic and aluminum, are common death traps to the sea creatures. In order to improve the situation, the consequences of having trash in the ocean should be made aware to the public. The image portrays emotion because it displays a helpless seal that is suffocating from the trash tied around its neck. The reasoning and credibility are also conveyed in the image of the helpless seal.
Throughout our lives, we’ve been taught that it’s good to recycle and, in return, will save the environment. Common phrases such as “reduce, reuse and recycle” has been encoded to our brain during adolescence in hopes to prolong a future for the generations ahead. As an illustration, one of these attempts at the aid of recycling are reusable grocery bags. I believe that employing reusable grocery bags as an alternative to plastic bags is redundant because it provides a minimal impact to the environment, focuses on the wrong spectrum of recycling, and could be more of a hassle than it is helpful.
There is also debate on how much better biodegradable plastics are in the first place. This is because as biodegradable plastics break down, they break up into smaller and smaller pieces, but never quite disappear. This leaves the potential that the plastic would continue entering the food chain. But although biodegradable plastics aren’t perfect, they are still much safer than standard plastic and present a much lower risk. In addition, by making the shift to ban single use plastics, research towards better plastic alternatives will speed up and better solutions will become available. Over time, these new alternatives to plastics may spread to other items that aren’t single use, making an even greater impact on the health of humans and the
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest garbage dump in the world. According to estimates made by experts, the patch holds approximately three and a half million tons of garbage. Majority of this garbage is made of plastic. This waste is a threatening problem to the patch’s surrounding wildlife. Many animals are caught in the floating pieces of trash and it is the cause of the deaths of about one million birds and about one hundred thousand other sea animals. Due to the oceans nature and constant moving currents, the trash is also constantly moving. Therefore the size of the patch never stays the exact same. However, scientists believe it be approximately two times the size of Texas. The plastic is mostly broken down from larger materials into small pieces. The patch has been referred to as one scientist as a, “plastic soup”. This garbage poses such a threat mainly because it does not biodegrade. These plastics will be in the ocean essentially forever. Many plastics also contain chemicals, and absorb other chemicals and pollutants they become exposed to. These newly absorbed toxins are then leaked and distributed back into the ocean over time. The chemicals can directly enter the bodies of the animals which consume them. A study was being conducted by scientists of the fish that inhabit the area around the patch. What the researchers found inside the belly of one fish (that was no larger in size than that of a finger), was eighty four small fragments of plastic. It does not take scientists to recognize the impact of this problem, Zach Gold, who is sixteen, is from Santa Monica California. Zach enjoys s...
In 2014, California became the first U.S. state to ban the use of plastic bags in stores. This was a heroic move that boldly elevated concern for the environment above shoppers’ convenience. All states should follow California’s example and either ban or significantly limit the use of plastic bags in stores.
Using plastic bags are second nature to people in this day and age. Warner acknowledges, “Much to the dismay of the environmentally conscious citizens worldwide, the ubiquity of the free plastic carryout bag has bred nonchalant consumers who take this modern convenience for granted” (646). Although some people are conscious about the environment, people strive more for convenience and do not think about the impacts using bags have not only on the environment, but on themselves as well. If something is bad for the environment, it will alternatively be bad for humans as well. When plastic bags are exposed to the sun from being littered all around, the ultraviolet rays cause the substances of plastic bags to weaken. After the substances weaken, the substances become invisible to the naked eye. The substances that are no longer able to be seen are toxic to humans (Warner 649). As a result of plastic bags being littered around, animals consume plastic bags. This is negatively affects humans because animals are often consumed. When humans consume animals like, fish, there can be plastic in the fish’s belly, which then transfers to the humans and this poses a concern for human’s health. Humans are negatively affected by plastic bags because of the toxic chemicals in plastic bags, as well as, consuming animals with plastic in their
In addition, the housewives also can use this bag for groceries shopping instead of using plastic bag that can bring harm to the environment. As we know, plastic will lead to pollution and not biodegradable. Therefore, by using this bag for groceries shopping will save our world from becoming worse.
Millions of plastic bags are given out to consumers by supermarkets and stores to carry their goods in. They are also cheap, light, durable, easy to carry and in many cases, free. The most commonly used shopping bag is made of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). This type is used in the majority of supermarkets and stores. After these bags are used, they often end up in landfills or as litter, roughly only three percent of plastic bags is actually recycled per year (Planet Ark, 2011). The materials used in making plastic bags make them non-biodegradable. According to the science dictionary, 2011 refers to “these materials cannot be decomposed into environmentally safe waste materials by the action of soil bacteria.” These harmful substances are toxic and take approximately four hundred years to break down, or in this case photo-degrade; which is how plastics made from (HDPE) break down. Since they are not biodegradable, they remain in the environment and are absorbed in soil or water (Indian Centre for Plastics in the Environment, 2010). This essay will discuss the various harmful effects of plastic bags, and demonstrate the risks that these bags impose on humans, animals and the environment. It will also discuss a series of suggested solutions that could help reduce plastic bag usage.
Everyone has heard a cashier one time or another mumble, “Paper or plastic?” as he put their groceries in a bag, but do shoppers know the effects of each vessel in which they carry their comestibles? There are many issues and benefits to both paper and plastic. The making and recycling of both paper and plastic bags can harm the environment. One must also look at the costs of making each bag. The convenience of each is also something to look at. Many people jump to conclusion that paper bags are better for the environment without knowing the facts. Since plastic bags are preferred by customers and plastic bags actually do not hurt the environment as much as paper ones do, consumers should feel at ease when choosing plastic.
There are over 600 million tons of recyclables being handled by almost 2 million people worldwide every year (BIR). This is the result of the ever growing concern of waste and CO2 emissions across the globe. Recycling is a controversial topic because many were taught that recycling is the most influential way to reduce environmental impact. However, according to the New York times, “Recycling may be the most wasteful activity in modern America: a waste of time and money, a waste of human and natural resources.” (Tierney). Recycling may actually be a way for people to feel justified about overusing products. This can result in a rapid increase in consumerism . In some cases, recycling can be effective, but studies have shown that more fossil fuels are burned up to recycle plastic than to produce new plastic products. This is also the case for many other materials. There are millions of dollars in net loss each year that are spent on salary for workers and gasoline used to fuel transportation of recyclables. Many people everywhere recycle because they were told it was good, but they were not informed of the negative aspects (Tierney). Although recycling some materials are beneficial by saving energy and waste, other materials, such as plastic and paper, cost more in consumed energy to recycle; Therefore reducing and reusing is a more practical and cost efficient way to reduce waste and energy.
The people of America throw away more trash than any other society in the world! America consumes 80 percent of our planet's resources, even though we make up only 20 percent of the world's population (Cooper 267). The average person throws away 4.3 pounds of trash each day. That's about 30 pounds per week and 120 pounds per month! (“Reduce and Reuse” 1). Americans throw away too much - that's the bottom line (Cooper 265). There is a garbage crisis in America and “the only part of the anti-waste message that has taken hold to any noticeable degree is the call to recycle” (Cooper 267). Our country's issues on trash and recycling go hand in hand. America produces too much trash, and the environment is suffering. There is some effort being put into countering these issues through recycling and trash management, but is it enough? (Cooper 267).
We have likewise consisted of different types of satchels for everyday usage and also traveling.
All over the world the debate has been between paper and plastic, but recently there has been the introduction of the reusable bag. This reusable bag is said to eliminate the problems between paper and plastic and be the most environmental friendly compared to both, this would seem to be the most obvious choice when it comes to which bag is the best bag. However, this may not be the case, in fact, using a plastic bag may even be better than a paper or reusable bag in comparison. A plastic bag, unlike the other bag contenders is more energy and cost efficient when it comes to production, it is fundamentally recyclable, and overall just more convenient to have.
Paper bags more efficiently collect fine dust, but they should be disposed after about a month of cleaning. Fabric bags are recommended to use only if there are no disposable bags, as fabric pores are larger, so fabric bags are not effective enough. This also may cause fast clogging of additional filters.