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Negative impact of plastic bags
Negative impact of plastic bags
Negative impact of plastic bags
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The convenience and availability of plastic bags in Singapore have resulted in serious environmental issues such as the release of harmful greenhouse gases and threat to marine life.
[1]Zero Waste Singapore provides the statistics of the amount of waste produced in Singapore which supported the research that plastic bag was one of the main sources of waste in Singapore. Together with Zero Waste Singapore, [2]an article from the Singapore Environmental Council has identified and mitigated the wastage and inefficient use of plastic bags in Singapore. This research also shows the various solutions used to reduce plastic bag usage like implementing “free from plastic bag” day in Singapore, or imposing a charge on each plastic bag at participating
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[3]The website belongs to an international organization show facts regarding plastic bags, and also reasons why plastic bag usage should be reduced. [4]Thus, academic study of how plastic bags impact the environment, and also the benefits of reusable bags were done. The study also concludes that by increasing the use of reusable bags will reduce the use of plastic bags. Furthermore, it is the most effective way to reduce the impact caused by plastic bags in the environment. The study also portrays a possible five year plan initiative to promote the use of reusable bags, reducing the use of plastic bags. This reinforces the original research on initiatives and methods like “free from plastic bags” day and levy charges on plastic bags which are implemented to convince while leading the consumers to use reusable bags over plastic …show more content…
[5]No plastic bag day program was implemented in Malaysia and the public participation and effectiveness was recorded. Just like “free from plastic bag day” in Singapore, the participating store will not be issuing plastic bag or else levy charge will be applied. Additionally, the effectiveness of this program will be considered through observations and survey. In the study, it is concluded that a combined approach of the levy and a restriction on plastic bag usage would educate the public, and also increase the awareness of the consumer regarding the effects which have created to the environment. [6]A study on the concept of "No plastic bag day" and also its role in the development of environmental behavior among Malaysian shows a positive attitude of the consumer towards plastic bag usage during the implementation of no plastic bag day program. [7]An academic study on the psychological intervention approach to reduce resource consumption was carried out in Malaysia as well. In this case, the study was an approach of reducing plastic bag usage at the supermarkets. Surveys were conducted on the event date, and the result shows a behavioral change in the consumers. So this field study supported the original research that the behavior of the consumers has been often unintentional, and it’s still causing environmental damages. Most importantly, this behavior can be avoided
Using plastic bags were something everyone feels bad using. We use them everyday in some form or another, but we tend to forget the bad that they do. Plastic bags should not be used or allowed in the U.S because it tends to do more harm than good in our society or world.
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.
Which means their obviously bad for the aquatic marine life environment & are cause many different forms of damage for them & us as one. On p.g. 23 of The New York Times upfront magazine “Birds,fish, sea turtles, & others are getting tangled in plastic bags or mistake them for food & choke”. Someone else might argue that they could the plastic bags in landfills instead of oceans. But that counter- argument is flawed because you’re just polluting by burning plastic which is bad on our part we’re not doing our part to support & taking care of the earth. Plastic in the ocean isn't just bad for plants & animals but for humans too because of the food chain some of us eat animals as a meat source such as aqua marine life like fish. If the fishermen catch fish that have been eating plastic then it's in our food supply if we eat that fish it's gonna be bad for us so many will end up getting sick from the plastic inside of the fish then what will we do our aqua marine food supply will go down the drain we couldn’t eat the fish since it's basically contaminated with plastic that we’re dumping there instead of trying to fix it & getting rid of plastic bags for good for the good of the earth. We’re causing damage towards the earth by dumping all that plastic into the ocean which damages our water supply it’ll poison us although we clean the water it depends on how big the plastic particles are, it’ll make us sick & sense it’s been lying in the oceans could bring in new pathogens &
Every year, an estimated 8 million tons of plastic waste enters our environment, severely polluting oceans, beaches, forests, and even the towns and cities we live in. In the ocean alone, it is believed that 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic pollutes the waters (“Plastic Statistics”, Ocean Crusaders).The majority of plastic pollution can be traced back to single-use items, such as grocery bags, bottles, and plastic packaging. According to United Nations Environment, “At the rate we are dumping items such as plastic bottles, bags and cups after a single use, by 2050 oceans will carry more plastic than fish…” (“UN Declares War on Ocean Plastic”, UN Environment). This pollution is a major problem and endangers not only the environment, but human
This pollution problem is so ubiquitous plastic can be found throughout the marine environment from coastlines to near shore lagoons to remote ocean hotspots where plastics caught up in marine currents. And gathered up into huge garbage patches that swirl
In recent years, it has become blatantly obvious that the Earth’s environmental deterioration is showing signs towards a cause of global concern. Drastic increases in water pollution, global warming, and deforestation, among other environmental issues have caused a sudden desire to raise awareness of and to resolve human-initiated problems. One of the more controversial topics involving human impact on environment is the excessive use of plastic, specifically in the form of plastic bags. Used for their convenience, durability, and inexpensive nature, plastic bag production and consumption has exploded, allowing them to become a seemingly necessary part of everyday life. Unfortunately, however, this abuse of plastic bags has brought a slew of environmental health
properly carried out there is possibility of toxic material entering the stream of SOLID WASTE.
... converting plastic waste into useful products are being affected by pollution; this contamination is found within containers where plastics are collected. But the same risk of pollution carries downside consequences in which workers and people responsible for cleaning and disinfecting the plastic materials are not doing the best to eliminate plastic waste, and to disinfect the infected bacteria and microorganisms from the atmosphere and environment. Organizations from China and India are the largest in the world, they collect and purchase used plastic from United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America (Minguez 2013). These companies do not bother to sanitize the products before the recycling process; for this reason the planet earth is getting a worse environmental condition, and it is destroying lives of living beings, and natural resources as well (Uddin 2014).
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
Discussion This study was conducted to determine if in a natural setting, female grocery shoppers would use more bags than men. Additionally, this study was conducted to determine if shoppers with more plastic bags used a higher quantity of bags than shoppers with reusable bags. The first hypothesis approached significance and was consistent with the prediction.
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. Although plastic bags appear to be fragile and light, their negative environmental effect is devastating. Plastic bags may cause large amounts of pollution at every step of their limited life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials, production, transportation, and recycling or disposal. Plastic bags can be defined as the most damaging form of environmental pollution.
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.
In the 1870’s, plastic was discovered in the United States when John Wesley Hyatt was trying to create a different material to make billiard balls (Manrich, 3). Little did he know it would majorly evolve into material we use everyday. However, plastics are now taking over our landfills. The average American throws away one-hundred and eighty-five pounds of plastic a year (Popescu, 121). The answer to decrease this statistic is easy: recycling. I believe that recycling will help eliminate littering and the growth of landfills, while also creating jobs for the unemployed. Not only does recycling plastic help eliminate littering, but also reuses the plastic so there is not a production of additional unneeded plastics. The
The average resident produces seven and a half pounds of garbage every day that is buried down in landfills and litter lands, costing a great amount of money. Nowadays, people face no more critical problem than the need to save the weakening environment, mainly in urban areas, where solid wastes are uselessly dumped. It has been observed that cities have no controlled structure for garbage disposal. Each year, millions of dollars are spent picking up litter and more is thrown away in valuable materials that could be recycled. As humanity develops new technology and equipment, the level of waste increases every day.
Thus, the litter is only beneficial to us in a moment but the consequences are incalculable. Furthermore, humans should plant, grow and keep trees. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, prevent soil erosion and provide habitat for all living organisms. Planting more trees to enjoy the fresh air created by plants and contribute to saving the earth. In addition, everyone ought to minimize the use of plastic bags which is very difficult to recycle and can survive in hundreds years. If a lot of used plastic bags are not handled property, they will cause tremendous consequences later. To reduce them, people should refuse to use plastic bags offered by supermarkets, instead, use long-lasting shopping bags and use paper bags or biodegradable bags. People also should use natural materials. Plant protection drugs and hazardous chemicals used in hygiene everyday are one of the causes of diseases such as Parkinson, cancer and diseases related to the brain. So why not use materials derived from natural and efficient utilization of the relationship between the struggle for survival in the wild species to control the pest. Besides, all persons should begin to utilize solar energy for use. Solar energy is clean, natural and unbridled source of energy for