IES Blog

The Plastic Bag

Posted : February 2, 2009 by Pete, Category: recycling

This time, instead of talking about the VE or SketchUp, I would like to provide some insight into my world outside of work and the passion I have for the environment. This is a project I am currently working on;

Ok, the problem is one you all contribute to on a daily basis, perhaps unknowing of the effects they can have. Unaware of the alternatives and the choices you can make. You probably think it’s such an insignificant item that it couldn’t possible have an effect on the environment. The plastic bag. How many times have you walked into a store to buy a single item and the store assistant not only supplies one bag, but frequently double bags it? Are they on bag commission? Let me give you some background on plastic bags and what harm they can do, then maybe you will forego the bag and carry the item or bring your own reusable bag next time. If you are a store assistant, maybe you will think twice before offering. Ultimately this is something I’d like the government to mandate, but one step at a time.

Introduced 25 years ago, these bags are now consumed at rate of approximately 500 billion per year globally, or 1 million per minute. It is estimated that 1% or 5 billion of these bags end up as wind blow litter each year. These bags that take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade, often wind up in waterways or the landscape, becoming eyesores and eventually degrading water and soil as they break down into tiny toxic bits. Their manufacture and disposal also uses large quantities of non-renewable resources, especially petroleum, a key ingredient in plastic. Large amounts of global warming gases are released during their production, transportation, and disposal. Environmentally, disposable plastic bags are a serious problem. Hundreds of thousands of marine animals, including endangered sea turtles, die every year when they eat plastic bags mistaken for food.                                                         

What about a ban on plastic bags? Would that help? That’s what they have done in San Francisco. However, consumers still need something to carry their groceries in. What about paper?

Paper bags are not the answer, since independent studies show they have roughly as many negative impacts as plastic ones. These problems could be avoided by advocating the use of reusable bags instead, and the consumption of fewer disposable bags. The negative impacts of disposable bags could be reduced easily and significantly by charging for their usage at the point of purchase. In cooperation with retailers, the Irish government introduced a plastic bag tax (PlasTax) that has slashed consumption over 90% and raised $9.6 million for environmental and waste management projects. Another benefit is that stores save money on bag purchases and improve their public image. The money could even go towards subsidising reusable bags, purchasable in the store.

A combination of consumer education and governments and retailers working together, we can rid the world of them. Take a reusable bag next time. My task is to persuade the Mayor for the moment and I’ll go from there.

Tags:Environment, recycle, recycling, reduce, reuse