Plastic bags damage the
environment in many ways. Like other plastics, they are made from
petroleum, a nonrenewable resource. They do not biodegrade when thrown
out. A plastic bag may stay in a landfill for decades or even centuries.
Plastic bags that are not buried in a landfill may escape into the
environment, where they become litter and may injure fish or other
wildlife that mistake them for food. Finally, plastic bags hold less
than paper or reusable bags, making them inefficient for shoppers.
Manufacture
The
plastic used in plastic bags is made from petroleum and natural gas,
and the process of creating the plastic also uses petroleum and natural
gas to operate. Both petroleum and natural gas are nonrenewable
resources, and worldwide supplies of them are dwindling. Shipping the
raw materials to the factory and shipping plastic bags away from the
factory also use petroleum, which creates greenhouse gases when burned.
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Disposal
The
overwhelming majority of plastic grocery bags wind up in landfills.
Plastic bags are not biodegradable, and it is unknown how long a plastic
bag buried in a landfill will stay there. Eventually, the plastic
begins to break down. It may begin to leach toxins into the landfill and
then into nearby groundwater, harming animals, plants and humans who
rely on groundwater sources.
Recycling
Due
to their extremely light weight and the quality of the plastic used to
make them, plastic bags are rarely recycled. The cost of the energy
required to recycle plastic bags is more than the value of the recycled
bags and is also higher than the cost of making new ones. Worse, plastic
bags mixed in with other recyclables may jam recycling machines,
bringing the entire recycling plant to a halt as the machine is fixed.
Litter
Plastic
bags that escape landfills and cannot find a recycler frequently become
litter. Their light weight means they are easily picked up by the wind
and deposited in trees or in the ocean. In both habitats, they may be
mistaken as food by hungry animals. Sea turtles are particularly
vulnerable to death by plastic bag because plastic bags in the water
resemble jellyfish, a favorite food of sea turtles. A curious animal may
also become trapped in a plastic bag and become strangled or poisoned
by chewing on the bag.
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