Get Rid of Plastic Bags… And Plastic!

• The raw material of plastic bags is oil. Therefore, the more we use plastic bags, the more we waste oil - a non-renewable energy source.
• The petroleum-based plastic bags take decades to break down, so if they are not recycled they litter. It creates visual pollution: in the streets, on the beaches etc. Also, they can clog roadside drains, which could cause street flooding during heavy rainfall.
• Plastic bags can be recycled but it rarely happens: according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, only 1% of plastic bags were recycled in 2000, against twenty percent for paper bags.
• They endanger wildlife and particularly sea life such as sea turtles and dolphins which can die of entanglement, suffocation, and ingestion because they assume that these bags are jellyfish.

What is being done

For the past few years, there has been rising international awareness regarding the damaging and dangerous impact on the environment of plastic bags. Governments all over the world have decided to get involved in that particular issue: Some governments have decided to ban them: Bangladesh, Bhutan and Zanzibar. Plastic bags should no more be given for free in China from June 1st. These bags are surcharged in Germany, South Africa, Ireland and Israel. Several countries try and promote, through major retailers, the use of cloth bags, paper bags or grocery bags: United Kingdom (with Tesco), France (with Carrefour), New Zealand.

In the U.S.

Plastic bags are already used less than paper bags by American consumers, and there have been no government actions to further curb their use. But large cities such as San Francisco and Portland, OR, have planned or plan to ban plastic bags, Seattle, WA will certainly launch a 20 cent “green fee” on plastic bags, and Washington, DC is considering a 5 cent tax on all bags, plastic or paper.

Plastic: a not-so-safe material

• Bisphenol A, a common chemical used to make certain plastics has been linked to potentially deadly diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
• Studies have shown that 90% of American people have Bisphenol A in their bodies
• Exposure to Bisphenol comes from many different sources such as the foods we eat, the water and beverages we drink, electronics, and even our dentists
• Even babies come in contact with Bisphenol at an early age, as many baby bottles are made from the plastic

What YOU can still do!

• Reuse your plastic shopping bags: use them as trash so as not to buy others that are more energy wasting; use them for storage.
• Use paper bags rather than plastic bags when you are given the choice, but keep in mind that paper bags generate 70 percent more air and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags, and it takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag.
• Use reusable grocery bags, which always have a lower environmental impact.
• View an informative presentation on plastic bags at the Pocono Record
• Teach students how to solve the plastic bag crisis using our Plastic Bag Lesson Plan