bags is usually paper which is the opposite of the better option. In Oakland, California an organization backed by plastic manufacturers brought on a lawsuit claiming the city did not research enough on the reproductions of a bag ban and if they had done the research they would have realized paper bags are just as bad as plastic bags (McGrath). This has become the wave of bans on plastic bags continues every day, but most bans do not take into account that paper is just as bad and as they continue to ban plastic, people will shift to the next “environmentally friendly” option that comes to mind which would be paper bags. The bag bans are driving up production and demand of paper bags and furthering the damage to the environment with all of
…show more content…
The main reason why plastic bags are widely hated and believed to be more environmentally unfriendly to the environment would be be because of the litter caused by them as they often blow out of landfills, garbage cans and dumpsters across the nation or simply because someone was too lazy to walk to the garbage can and properly dispose of it. This creates a mass amount of plastic bag litter often clogs draining infrastructure and creates an eyesore; however, if the bag does not get caught in a tree or a fence it will make it into the ocean where it will be eaten by some form of wildlife. Zion Lights, writer and editor for Huffington post and JUNO magazine on topics relating to science, and the environment states: “Most of the Earth’s wildlife is in the sea, which means that at least 260 other species of animal are also at risk of ingestion or entanglement due to plastic bag flotsam”. So many marine animals are dying and at risk because plastic bags look like food to them such as the jellyfish sea turtles feed on or are accidentally ingested such as by whales who open their mouth to feed on small organisms and instead suck in plastic bags and other plastic items. Lights also mentions how smaller organisms such as fish and jellyfish are also being affected not because they are eating …show more content…
According to the American Chemical Society, by using tote bags: “reduces landfill waste and the energy consumed during production, transportation, and recycling”. The more a tote bag is rescued the more its production impact is made up for but the type of bag used does affect how many times a tote bag has to be used in order to be sustainable. Noah Dillon, a writer for The Atlantic cites an earlier study from the United Kingdom Environmental Agency stating: “Tote bags made from recycled polypropylene plastic require 26, and cotton tote bags require 327 uses”. This is why the bag material is so important when choosing one, because it can either be very good for the environment and sustainable or it can take many uses and have to replaced such as a cotton tote before it is used 327 times causing it to be just as wasteful as plastic bags. There are other options as stated by BulletinBag, a distributor of environmentally friendly custom reusable bags, which are: Hemp, Jute, Polypropylene, Nylon, Polyester, and Recycled PET. each of them have their strengths and drawbacks but overall Hemp and Jute would be two more of the best options when picking a reusable tote. Tote bags are marketed to be the most environmentally friendly and in theory
The main reason why plastic bags are widely hated and believed to be more environmentally unfriendly to the environment would be be because of the litter caused by them as they often blow out of landfills, garbage cans and dumpsters across the nation or simply because someone was too lazy to walk to the garbage can and properly dispose of it. This creates a mass amount of plastic bag litter often clogs draining infrastructure and creates an eyesore; however, if the bag does not get caught in a tree or a fence it will make it into the ocean where it will be eaten by some form of wildlife. Zion Lights, writer and editor for Huffington post and JUNO magazine on topics relating to science, and the environment states: “Most of the Earth’s wildlife is in the sea, which means that at least 260 other species of animal are also at risk of ingestion or entanglement due to plastic bag flotsam”. So many marine animals are dying and at risk because plastic bags look like food to them such as the jellyfish sea turtles feed on or are accidentally ingested such as by whales who open their mouth to feed on small organisms and instead suck in plastic bags and other plastic items. Lights also mentions how smaller organisms such as fish and jellyfish are also being affected not because they are eating …show more content…
According to the American Chemical Society, by using tote bags: “reduces landfill waste and the energy consumed during production, transportation, and recycling”. The more a tote bag is rescued the more its production impact is made up for but the type of bag used does affect how many times a tote bag has to be used in order to be sustainable. Noah Dillon, a writer for The Atlantic cites an earlier study from the United Kingdom Environmental Agency stating: “Tote bags made from recycled polypropylene plastic require 26, and cotton tote bags require 327 uses”. This is why the bag material is so important when choosing one, because it can either be very good for the environment and sustainable or it can take many uses and have to replaced such as a cotton tote before it is used 327 times causing it to be just as wasteful as plastic bags. There are other options as stated by BulletinBag, a distributor of environmentally friendly custom reusable bags, which are: Hemp, Jute, Polypropylene, Nylon, Polyester, and Recycled PET. each of them have their strengths and drawbacks but overall Hemp and Jute would be two more of the best options when picking a reusable tote. Tote bags are marketed to be the most environmentally friendly and in theory