Plastic bags are ubiquitous reminders of the human presence. A great majority of stores use plastic bags for packaging everything you buy, even if it is just a small item such as a pen. Plastic bags are a worldwide problem.
Plastic bags can be found on streets, in sewers, stuck in trees, floating on rivers, and even in the bellies of sea-turtles. There are several problems associated with paper bag use. One is that some of the biggest are that they can cause massive drainage blockages that can result in floods. Another big problem is that wildlife can ingest plastic bags and choke to death or die from intestinal blockage.Plastic bags also release toxins into their environment as they break down.
A dilemma concerning the issue is whether to use paper or plastic bags. This is a dilemma because paper has its own drawbacks as well. Paper bags require much more energy to produce, and create much more waste and pollution. But although plastic bags that degrade in months (instead of decades or even centuries) have been invented, the dilemma remains because quickly degrading plastic releases toxins and greenhouse gases.
Although plastic bags are a problem, their usefulness is undeniable.They should not be entirely eradicated, but should be used more efficiently. A feasible solution would probably be something like Ireland’s. The government of Ireland imposed taxes upon plastic bags, which reduced their plastic bag consumption by about 90 percent. Implementing such a solution does not necessarily mean that paper bags should be used instead, but that plastic bags will be reused, or that another longer lasting alternative, such as cloth bags, will be used.
It is unlikely, perhaps impossible, that plastic bag use will be eliminated, but with right attitude towards the environment, the problem can be minimized.
