ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

Effect of Plastic Bags on Environment



Plastic bags are modern conveniences that have become indispensable in all households and daily lives. They are popular with retailers and consumers both for the reason that they come in very inexpensive, and are strong and lightweight. A major cause of environmental pollution on a large scale is plastic bags. They are the main reason behind earth's ecological degradation. These bags kill a huge number of wild and marine species and are a waste of scarce energy resources on earth. Even though, the governments across the globe keep passing out plastic bags' ban orders, the usage of plastic bags has remained unaffected by these measures largely.

In US alone on an average, a hundred billion plastic bags are used every year. Adding to that, if the major economies of the world like India, China, and Europe were to be taken into consideration the number of these hazardous plastic bags in use will increase exponentially. To further exacerbate the situation developed countries shipping off their plastic waste to underdeveloped countries and the marine expanses.

As the global population increases so does the amount of waste and harmful byproducts that mankind produces. The major chunk of this wastage is composed of plastic bags and is discarded into the oceans. This waste then is carried to an area where the oceanic currents meet. All the points in oceans where a lot of wastage has collected are called marine trash islands. One of the biggest wastage islands in the world is found at the plastic trash patch in the Pacific Ocean.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a region in the Pacific Ocean that is intensely concentrated with marine trash. This area is located between Hawaii and California. The size of this plastic trash patch is not known as it constantly keeps growing. The existence of this trash patch was first hinted at by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association in 1988. However, it was not until 1997 when the patch was officially discovered because it exists in a remote location and is not easily navigable.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association studied the trash patch in the Pacific Ocean for years to come up with the conclusion that around 90% of the trash is plastic. The study of various research groups across the world have come up with same findings.

The trash islands are laden with water bottles, cups, bottle caps, plastic bags, abrasive cleaners, and fish netting. However, majority of the plastic trash is in the form of raw plastic pellets called nurdles, which are an industrial byproduct (www.worldwatch.org, 2011).

The plastic trash patches adversely affect wildlife. To begin with fish, seabirds, and other marine animals get trapped in the nylons nets and six-pack rings floating freely in the middle of the ocean and die. They also choke to death on plastic trash like balloons, straws, and cello wraps.

Additionally, fish, seabirds, and other marine life species mistake the brightly colored plastic pellets for food. Since these plastic pellets have a concentrated level ...