Drowning in Plastic:
The Throwaway Society
Since it birth in the decade of the ‘90s, plastic have play such an important role in every aspect of the modern-society. Thanks to its unique combination of properties such as durability, versatility, and cost of production, plastic’s dependency seems to not have end. Packaging, construction materials, medical devices and a surfeit of consumer goods are examples of products manufactured from plastic. It is estimated that 100 millions tons of plastic is used each year, which accounts for about 10 percent of the world’s waste (Kiener 162). Hence, it is imperative to have a proper disposal and management of plastic products, since its degradation takes hundreds of years to be completed. Indeed, most …show more content…
Plastic bags (single shopping bags) and food related trash made up an overwhelming proportion of the garbage, making this the new scourge of society (Reade, Lou 20). Single use plastic bags, sooner, exposed the real face of the plastic’s products family. Although they were light, inexpensive, and almost indestructible, they began piling up around the world; tainting rivers, littering landscapes, clogging sewers, and finally ending up in the oceans. This scenario, sooner or later started galvanizing more and more people; the battle against plastics have just …show more content…
Nations and local governments around world are winning plastic off the society by either taxing or banning them outright. Some environmentalists and activists seem optimistic toward this clever idea since have already achieved great results in phasing out the plastic’s consumption. Countries like China in June 2008, Bangladesh in 2002 and recently in the United Arab Emirates in 2012 have already banned the production, sale or use of ultra-thin plastic bags. In other locations such as Los Angeles and Chicago (U.S. cities) restrictions on the distribution of bags are visible. Indeed, at least 12 U.S. jurisdictions have banned plastic bags (Kiener 160). Many others cities and countries around the world have decided to levy a fee on the bags, which is the case of Denmark, South Africa and Taiwan. Additionally, Mexico City in 2009 became the second large city in the Western Hemisphere (after San Francisco) to ban thin nondegradable plastic bags (Kiener
The Throwaway Society
Since it birth in the decade of the ‘90s, plastic have play such an important role in every aspect of the modern-society. Thanks to its unique combination of properties such as durability, versatility, and cost of production, plastic’s dependency seems to not have end. Packaging, construction materials, medical devices and a surfeit of consumer goods are examples of products manufactured from plastic. It is estimated that 100 millions tons of plastic is used each year, which accounts for about 10 percent of the world’s waste (Kiener 162). Hence, it is imperative to have a proper disposal and management of plastic products, since its degradation takes hundreds of years to be completed. Indeed, most …show more content…
Plastic bags (single shopping bags) and food related trash made up an overwhelming proportion of the garbage, making this the new scourge of society (Reade, Lou 20). Single use plastic bags, sooner, exposed the real face of the plastic’s products family. Although they were light, inexpensive, and almost indestructible, they began piling up around the world; tainting rivers, littering landscapes, clogging sewers, and finally ending up in the oceans. This scenario, sooner or later started galvanizing more and more people; the battle against plastics have just …show more content…
Nations and local governments around world are winning plastic off the society by either taxing or banning them outright. Some environmentalists and activists seem optimistic toward this clever idea since have already achieved great results in phasing out the plastic’s consumption. Countries like China in June 2008, Bangladesh in 2002 and recently in the United Arab Emirates in 2012 have already banned the production, sale or use of ultra-thin plastic bags. In other locations such as Los Angeles and Chicago (U.S. cities) restrictions on the distribution of bags are visible. Indeed, at least 12 U.S. jurisdictions have banned plastic bags (Kiener 160). Many others cities and countries around the world have decided to levy a fee on the bags, which is the case of Denmark, South Africa and Taiwan. Additionally, Mexico City in 2009 became the second large city in the Western Hemisphere (after San Francisco) to ban thin nondegradable plastic bags (Kiener