Reasons to Ban Plastic Bags

Plastic bags:

pollute our land and water. Because they are so lightweight, plastic bags can travel long distances by wind and water. They litter our landscapes, get caught in fences and trees, float around in waterways, and can eventually make their way into the world’s oceans.

are made from non-renewable resources. The extraction and production of petroleum and natural gas creates greenhouse gases, which contribute to global climate change. This is short-sighted as the typical useful life of each plastic bag is about 12 minutes https://greentumble.com/how-are-plastic-bags-made/

never break down. the plastic breaks up into tiny little pieces that end up in the ocean to be consumed by wildlife. Today, there are an estimated 46,000-1,000,000 plastic fragments floating within every square mile of our world’s oceans.  https://greentumble.com/plastic-bag-degradation-what-you-should-know/

are harmful to wildlife and marine life. Plastic bags and their associated plastic pieces are often mistaken for food by animals, birds, and marine life like fish and sea turtles. Animals can also easily become entangled in this plastic.

are harmful to human health. Plastic fragments in the ocean such as those from plastic bags can absorb pollutants which are known to be hormone-disrupting chemicals. When marine organisms consume plastics in our oceans, these chemicals can make their way through the ocean’s food web and then into humans who eat fish and other marine organisms https://greentumble.com/serious-effects-of-plastic-pollution-on-human-health/.

are costly to pay for and to clean up after. Plastic bags cost about 3-5 cents each, and that cost is then incorporated into prices of the items sold at stores. The cost of plastic bag cleanup is about 17 cents per bag, and on average, taxpayers end up paying about $88 per year just on plastic bag waste. So that “free” plastic bag isn’t so free after all.

are not easy to recycle. As plastic bags tend to get caught in recycling machinery, most recycling facilities do not have the capacity to recycle plastic bags and therefore do not accept them. As a result, the actual recycling rate for plastic bags is about 5%. https://greentumble.com/can-plastic-bags-be-recycled/.

There are better alternatives available, and jobs to go with them! Reusable shopping bags are very durable and can be reused many times over the course of their useful life.