Plastic Bags Should Be Substitued By a More Environmentally-Friendly Product

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1.0 Introduction Plastic bags are widely used as an easy medium for packaging items purchased from groceries and shopping outlets. However, the irresponsible use of plastic bags has led to a number of impacts; particularly towards the environment. The negative implications on the use of plastic bags causes conflict where there is a need for the manufacture of plastic bags, especially the usual conventional bags used for shopping, to be reduced or banned. This brings up questions on whether the roles of these plastic bags should be substituted with a product that is more environmental-friendly such as reusable grocery bags as part of the solution for the banning of plastic bags. 2.0 Chemical Background 2.1 Background of Plastic Bags Plastic bags are made of a type of polymer called polyethylene, which is a flexible synthetic polymer produced from the polymerisation process of ethylene. Ethylene, or ethene is a gaseous hydrocarbon component usually obtained by the splitting of ethane hydrocarbon. Ethene molecules are usually made up of two units of methane molecules of with double carbon-to-carbon bonds. When the monomer units of ethene are polymerised in the presence of catalysts, a long polymeric chain of repeating ethylene monomers is produced.[1] These long chained molecules can be formed linearly or branched to produce different types of polyethylene components such as high-density polyethylene, or HDPE and low-density polyethylene, or LDPE.[1] In the production of polyethylene, appropriate additives are added into the polymer for the purpose of preservation of the polyethene, or to customise the polymer component according to its later use. Examples of additives that are added are additives that enable the polymer to susta... ... middle of paper ... ...pic/1589019/plastic-pollution ‘Environmental Impacts’, Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority, viewed 13 April 2014, http://www.ntepa.nt.gov.au/waste-pollution/plastic-bag-ban/enviroimpacts Rosenthal, E 2013, ‘Is it Time to Bag the Plastic?’ The New York Times, 18 May, viewed 13 April 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/sunday-review/should-america-bag-the-plastic-bag.html?_r=0 Magaziner, L 2014, ‘Plastic Bags: Convenient and Cruel’, Scholastic Scope, 62, 8, pp. 20-21, viewed 16 April 2014 (Academic Search Complete @EBSCOhost). ‘Are Reusable Bags Greener than Conventional Plastic Shopping Bags?’ 2012, All About Bags, viewed 13 April 2014, http://www.allaboutbags.ca/reusablesgreenerrmyth.html Green, K.P & DeMeo, E 2013, ‘The Crusade Against Plastic Bags’, Fraser Forum (2013), pp. 16-26, viewed 13 April 2014 (Business Source Complete @EBSCOhost).

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