Just how much can you understand about plastic bags?
You have likely got them stuffed to a draw on your own kitchen, see them drifting down the road on a windy day… but have you ever considered how many of these we use each and every day, effect they’re having on Earth & why we should say no to plastic bags
Fact # 1 Petroleum are used to manufacture plastic bags
It is something all people know , but you may be surprised to understand precisely how much we utilize to create plastic bags: an estimated 12 million barrels of petroleum utilized every year in the USA alone !
There is also a difference in the Type of plastics used in vinyl totes:
“Mainly there are two types of plastic bags. Lightweight, checkout-style bags are most commonly seen in supermarkets and takeaway shops, and are manufactured from high density polyethylene or HDPE. The ones found in the departmental or the boutique store are tougher and heavy plastic bags which are made using polyethylene of low density or LDPE.
Fact # 2 Around 3 trillions of plastic is being used around the world each year
150 million of them end up as litter, just 3 percent are now being recycle and 200,000 bags are thrown into landfill each hour.
Worldwide, approximately two million plastic bags are used each and every moment.
It is a shocking insight to our throwaway society. Here is the mindset we have been trapped for some time: throw it away and get on with daily activity.
Fact # 3 More than 44 percent of seabirds have ingested or be entangled in plastic
In reality, the CSIRO forecasts this amount will reach 99 percent by 2050.
In the sea and on the ground, plastic bags (along with other single-use plastics including straws and jar caps) are frequently mistaken for food from fish, turtles and other marine life. Once ingested, the plastic causes the creature to suffocate or starve, as they can’t digest this stuff.
Research conducted at Sydney Harbor at 2014 discovered plastics nanoparticles from the flesh of fish which are one of the species caught for human consumption, meaning these compounds are starting to work their way up the food chain and on your plate.
So regardless of what you do, ensure you maintain plastic bags from the shore and from the oceans. Should you have any old luggage lying about, find out how to recycle them here.
Fact # 4 The average time a plastic bag is used to get is… twelve minutes
Yeah. We are pretty damn lazy to go to the effort of creating a plastic bag by a fossil fuel, simply to throw away after less than 1/4 hour usage.
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Fact # 5 Many plastic bags are non-biodegradable
Do not be so quick to think next time you are told your plastic tote is “biodegradable”. More frequently than not, totes are “degradable”, meaning they will split into smaller and smaller pieces until they form micro plastics… but they won’t ever vanish from the environment entirely.
The issue here is these micro plastics may enter the food chain, end up within animals and even humans. Uh oh.
Not many bags are really “biodegradable”, and may take weeks and months until they begin to break down! Biodegradable bags are created from plant-based materials such as wheat and corn starch instead of oil. Centered on Planet Ark,’ biological processes break down these bags into molecules such as carbon dioxide, water and methane under particular conditions when oxygen is present.’
Fact # 6 There May Be animal fat in your plastic tote
In accordance with this author who seen a plastic bag mill, “many plastic bags (along with other plastics, for that matter) include “slide agents” to decrease the friction from the substance. And what exactly are slide agents made out of? Mainly animal fat”
“The mill owner I spoke with called it “chicken fat” but based on a article I found later, “Animal Derived Agents at Disposable Systems,” many of those slip agents are created from beef tallow.”
Fact # 7 Cities, states and nations around the globe have banned or put a tax on single-use plastic totes
In 2015, England introduced a 5 pence (about 10 pennies in Australia) fee for most single-use plastic bags (with many exceptions like when purchasing raw fish) in an effort to decrease the 7.6 billion single-use plastic bags used by the country annually.
Additionally, retailers are being invited to donate the earnings from luggage fees to charity, which could equate to approximately #730 million during the next ten years.
Conclusion
We will need to visit a cultural change away from our single-use, disposable lifestyles. Every reusable tote can remove hundreds (or even thousands) of plastic totes, so purchase a hardy canvas tote now and begin making a difference.
