How Plastic Bags Affect our Environment Research Paper

How Plastic Bags Affect our Environment - Research Paper Example astic bags pose to our environment and understand that continuing using plastic bags can even leads to endangerment of marine organisms and other wildlife. Plastics are everywhere and its properties are toxic and poison. Plastic bags should be banned in retail shops because it affects the environment and using alternative solutions that help to reduce using plastic bags. Millions of tonnes of plastic are produced every year. In fact the single used plastic bags have become a popular choice for shoppers and consumers ever since they were introduced in the 1940s. In the 1970s Single Use Plastic bags (SUPB) also known as high density polyethylene bags rose to popularity and they are in use even to this date. Today, almost 1.5 trillion tonnes of SUPBs are used annually around the world while in the U.S. alone about 100 billion are used (Equinox Centre, 2013). Chemically, the normal plastic bag is made up of high density polyethylene. Several monomers make up the bags. Plastic bags contain several additive and chemicals which imparts special characteristics to the bags. Chemicals such as Bisphenol A, Phatlates and Brominated flame retardants are some of the chemicals added to plastic products. In spite of the several problems associated with plastic bags, retail shops continue to use them since they are cheap to produce and are extremely durable and handy. They are also light weight and easy to carry which makes them extremely popular. In the last few decades several studies had focused on the adverse effects that plastic bag usage has had on the environment and on the health of humans and animals. Plastic bans have been the most popular carrying medium among U.S. citizens. Plastic bags are primarily produced by the burning of the fossil fuels. Almost 12 million barrels of oil is required for production of plastic bags in the U.S. alone ((Equinox Centre, 2013). But, the global prevalence of plastic bags included the long life span of plastic bags, littering of bags