How can we stop the use of plastic bags and what effect do they have on our planet?
Background / History :
Plastic bags have been around since the 1970s and since then they have become one of the largest environmental issue creators. The bags started in Europe and quickly spread to the rest of the world. In 1997 we discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the largest of several gyres in the world’s oceans where immense amounts of plastic waste have accumulated, threatening marine life. Plastic bags are infamously known for killing sea turtles, which think they are jellyfish and eat them. In 2002 the first plastic bag ban was issued Bangladesh because the bags were clogging their drainage systems. In 2011 there were around 1 million bags consumed every minute. The numbers continue to rise to this day. One reason for these bans include the fact that plastic bags are non-biodegradable. Disposing of the plastics is the biggest challenge because they cause the deterioration of the environment. They are destroying nature due to their harmful effect. Plastic bags have become the main cause of land pollution today. The plastic bags entering into the bodies of water are a major cause of water pollution. That's why most people conclude that these are deteriorating our environment in every way. Plastic bags are harmful for animals and marine creatures. Animals and marine creatures unknowingly consume plastic particles along with their food. Research shows that waste plastic bags have been a major reason for untimely animal deaths. They have been known to also cause illness in humans. The production of plastic bags releases toxic chemicals, these are the main causes of serious illness. The polluted environment is a major reason for various diseases which are spreading easily in human beings. Just like in Bangladesh, they can also cause clogged sewage. Waste plastic bags are the main reason for trapping the drains and sewers, especially during rains. This can result in floods and disrupt the normal life of people.
Current Status of Issue :
As of 2021 about 69 countries have implemented a partial or full ban of plastic bags. This is progress and it seems that some countries may follow suit when it comes to banning the bags. Many developing countries need these bans due to mismanagement of plastic waste in their country. Notable exceptions to the trend are France, Austria and Italy, which have banned certain types of thin plastic bags and require them to be replaced with compostable ones - a very popular type of plastic bag ban around the world. The severity of plastic bag bans varies from country to country, only some places have outright banned all non-compostable plastic bags. Many countries exempt sturdier, easier-to-reuse plastic bags from their bans while simultaneously requiring customers to pay a fee for those bags. Other restrictions that can be part of bans are limits on the production or import of plastic bags. China was already listed as a country with a plastic bag ban since it outlawed thin plastic bags in 2008. In early 2020, China announced it will substantially extend its laws to combat plastic bag use, first banning all non-compostable bags in major cities by the end of 2020 and extending this ban to the entire country by 2022. The U.S, Canada and Australia still lack country wide bans or fees on plastic bags.
Key players / Stakeholders :
Everybody in the world is a stakeholder in the plastic bag industry because they are used worldwide, but there are some notable groups that we can separate. All countries and states are stakeholders because they allow the use of plastic bags or they ban them and their government decides whether or not to keep them around. There is a group called the National Conference of State Legislatures that is attempting to reduce plastic pollution. They work in the US and attempted to implement bans or fees in states to limit or stop the use of plastic bags. They have gotten 8 states to stop using single use plastic bags (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon and Vermont). The average person is also a stakeholder in the plastic bag industry. As a people, we use plastic bags all the time and it's up to you to decide whether or not you will continue to do so. Some people don’t think that it matters that much and some think that it's detrimental to the earth's health that we stop producing them. The last major stakeholder is the plastic bag production companies. They continue to produce plastic bags the same way that they have been. Production has been increasing over the years and it doesn’t seem like it will stop anytime soon. These companies seem so only care about the money involved and not about the environment or the effect they are having on it. It is a company so I understand the need to make profit but there is much outrage over the use of the bags they produce and they don’t do anything about it. If they really cared about the environment then they may try to find an alternative and start producing them rather than just continuing what they are doing.
Power Dynamic Analysis :
The current power dynamic of this issue is in favor of businesses and manufacturers of the plastic bags. This is because they are so widely used and to have people stop using them seems alien to the average person who doesn’t think about their impact. The companies that profit from this will most likely continue to unless the information is all known and the public is heavily informed on what they are participating in. We would need this info to be taught more in schools and people to call for action if we expect any change in the power dynamic anytime soon. It is possible that the power dynamic can shift and we could make a difference for the environment. The people have the least perceived power but if we group up and try to make a change then we can show that we really have more power than the corporations.
Ethical Issues :
Is it okay to use plastic bags even though they cause so many problems? This is a question that I ask myself when I'm in a situation where plastic bags are used. Many people use these bags at stores and then dispose of them when they get home. However, the bags don’t go away, they are not biodegradable and will start to cause problems once they leave your grasp. I think that it is unethical to continue to use plastic bags after I learned about the impacts that they have on the environment. It’s up to you to decide if you think it’s okay to use plastic bags or if you even care about the environmental issues that occur from their use. Many people don’t even know of the impacts so that is why they are so widely used. They also think that them using a couple plastic bags won’t have an impact on the environment so why not use the bags. The problem is that most people think the exact same thing so they continue to use them and so does everyone else, continuing the cycle of pollution.
Solutions :
I believe that to solve this issue we need to outright ban the use of plastic bags or severely limit the use of plastic bags. It would help prevent a large portion of the plastic pollution that occurs in the world and help the recovery efforts. Many places that have already banned plastic bags did so to prevent plastic pollution in their sewage systems and if all places did this it would help their sewage systems stay cleaner. A majority of plastic bags are non biodegradable and this is what causes the issues in the first place. The bags also end up in oceans and other bodies of water which is unsafe for many animals because they mistake the bags for food. This can kill the animal or severely harm it and banning the bags would stop this. I believe that it is unethical to continue to use the plastic bags because of all the issues that they create for the environment and plan on not using them in the future.
Source List :
“From Birth to Ban: A History of the Plastic Shopping Bag | Cleanseas.” Clean Seas Turn the Tide on Plastic, 2018, www.cleanseas.org/impact/birth-ban-history-plastic-shopping-bag.
“Attention Required! | Cloudflare.” Soil Pollution, 2020, www.toppr.com/guides/chemistry/environmental-chemistry/soil-pollution.
“---.” Water Pollution, 2020, www.toppr.com/guides/biology/environmental-issues/water-pollution.
Buchholz, Katharina. “The Countries Banning Plastic Bags.” Statista Infographics, 10 June 2020, www.statista.com/chart/14120/the-countries-banning-plastic-bags/#:%7E:text=According%20to%20a%20United%20Nations,partial%20ban%20on%20plastic%20bags.
“State Plastic Bag Legislation.” NCSL, 2019,