plastic bags

Product Background

Packaging Knowledge notes that the first baggies and sandwich bags were made in 1957. ("Plastic bags", n.d.) Nowadays, plastic bags are everywhere. The plastic bags brings a lot of convenience to people. According to "The Worst Invention of Mankind", plastic bags were known as "the worst human invention". (Lv Hongyu, 2010) According to Packaging Knowledge, "Most plastic bags are made from polyethylene - more commonly known as polythene, which is made from crude oil and natural gas, non-renewable resources (see Fig,1)." ("Plastic bags", n.d.) Plastic at the same time bring convenience to people's lives, but also bring problems to the environment. The plastic bag causes the white pollution. (see Fig.2).

Figure.1Plastic bags (Packagingknowledge, n.d.)

Figure.2 White pollution (Reuters, 2008)

Plastic bags in China

At present, China has lots of people and needs lots of plastic bags. These dumped plastic bags were very dangerous to our environment. For protecting the environment, the goverment made a law. From June 1 2008, the major shopping malls in China will implement a compensation for the use of plastic bags. The customers must pay for plastic bags.

Plastic bag drawbacks

First of all, waste plastics mixed in the soil with accumulate, it will affect the crops to absorb nutrients and moisture, leading to crop failures. Secondly, plastic bags are danger to children! In Wikipedia,"Small plastic bags, especially dry cleaning bags, have the potential for causing suffocation. Every year about 25 children in the United States suffocate due to plastic bags, most under the age of one." ("Plastic bags", 2012) Thirdly, abandoned waste plastic products on land or in water, animals took them as food and ingestion(see Fig.3). This may cause animals dead.

Figure.3 Turtles mistake plastic bags for food (Prendergast, 2008)

At last, waste plastics with landfill will take up a lot of land. The plastic bags need hundreds of years to disapper.

Conclusion

We cannot never use plastic bag in our life. But we can use some other things to instead of it. The paper bags and cloth bags can be the choice. They are not harmful to the environment.

REFERENCES

Lv Hongyu. (2010, June 2). The Worst Invention of Mankind. Ezinearticle. Retrieved from /?The-Worst-Invention-of-Mankind&id=5364637 Packagingknowledge. (n.d.). Plastic bags [Photogragh]. Retrieved from http://www.pa /plastic_bags.asp

Plastic bags. (n.d.), In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 22, 2012, from http://en.wikipedi

/wiki/Plastic_bag

Plastic bags. (n.d.). Packagingknowledge. Retrieved February 22, 2012, from http://w /plastic_bags.asp

Prendergast, R. (2008, July 24). Turtles mistake plastic bags for food [Photogragh].

Retrieved from /EcoArticle/1783/0/New-Zealand-Campa ign-to-say-NO-to-plastic-bags-launched.aspx

Reuters. (2008, January 26). White pollution [Photogragh]. Retrieved from http://ww .au/news/environment/us-bags-change/2008/01/25/1201157669062 .html