Plastic Bags: A Threat to a Safe Future!

Following ideas can demonstrate various uses of reusable plastic bags—to consumers and the environment:

Plastic bags cannot be biodegradable. For reusing them, they need to pass through a process called photodegradation. In this process, plastic bags are usually broken down into smaller and smaller toxic particles that contaminate both soil and water, and end up entering the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them.

According to the published reports by the Environmental Protection Agency, about 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year. Out of this, approximately 100 billion are used as plastic shopping bags, which cost retailers about $4 billion annually.

Looking at the plastic consumption data by the different countries, you will be shocked to hear that Taiwan consumes 20 billion plastic bags annually (900 per person), Japan consumes 300 billion bags each year (300 per person), and Australia consumes 6.9 billion plastic bags annually (326 per person).

In addition, hundreds of thousands of whales, dolphins, sea turtles and other marine mammals die every year after eating discarded plastic bags they mistake for food.