Biofuelswatch.com
Conservation has become an increasingly important issue, and many people are looking to do all
they can to aid conservation efforts. One thing people can do on a daily basis is watch their
domestic habits, and shopping is one of those daily habits that can be monitored for
environmental efficiency. For instance, when we go shopping, is it better to use plastic or paper
bags to carry our groceries in? Let’s examine some of the advantages and disadvantages of
plastic bags as we look at how desirable their use is in overall terms.
1. First, most of the paper bags in common usage are made from polyethylene-a type of plastic.
Polyethylene is good, because it can, in its raw form, be manipulated to assume any colour,
shape, form or size desired. It is inherently versatile.
2. Polyethylene is also very durable and watertight, making it an ideal carrier of heavy goods,
especially tins bottles and cans being carried in bulk.
3. Despite the fact that it is not endlessly recyclable, polyethylene can be re-used again and
again.
4. Plastic bags can be melted and remoulded, and can subsequent be remoulded and made into
plastic lumber in order to be used on such things as park benches and in fencing material.
5. Studies into the effects on energy consumption and pollution effects have shown that the
polyethylene used in the manufacture of plastic bags requires far lower levels of energy than
those paper bags made form 3-% recycled fibres.
6. Similar studies have indicated that plastic bags also emit lower levels of both solid waste and
greenhouse gases.
Any plastic that goes un-recycled is capable of being burned in order to generate electricity,
which can contribute to lowering sulphur emissions produced by burning fossil fuels like coal.
There are also several disadvantages to the use, manufacture and disposal of plastic bags. They
include:
7. Most of the polyethylene that goes into making the vast majority of plastic bags is derived
from natural gas-which is a non-renewable, and therefore a finite source. This is environmentally
detrimental.
8. Very few plastic bags are actually recycled-even according to figures recorded as recently as
2007. Approximately 95% of all discarded plastic bags end up in land refill sites which take up
land space and can have knock-on effects with regard to wildlife, ecosystems and pollution, as
well as general hygiene.
9. Plastic bags are not biodegradable, meaning that they cannot be broken down to assume their
natural, organic state. Even under ideal conditions, they would photodegrade over a periods of
between 500-1,000 years. This means that plastic waste stays in our overall ecosystem for a very
long time, and also means that every bit of plastic produced since its inception over 50 years ago
is still with us. That amounts to an awful lot of plastic waste.
10. Despite the fact that plastic bags can be melted down and refashioned into other forms, the
process of burning them emits poisons-as well as heavy metals, which are carried into the
atmosphere.