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Plastic Bag Facts - THE PLASTIC PLAGUE |
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THE BAD NEWS
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Plastic bags
are said to be the most common manmade item
seen by sailors at sea. |
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A UN report in June 2006 estimated that on
every square mile of ocean there’s 46,000
pieces of plastic debris floating. |
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Greenpeace says that at least 267 marine
species are known to have suffered from
getting entangled in or ingesting marine
debris. Nearly 90 per cent of that debris is
plastic. |
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Marine wildlife eat plastic bags because
they mistake them for jellyfish. Once in
their guts, the bags cause intestinal
blockages - which are deadly. |
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Plastic bags become serial killers because
they do not break down in the environment.
Once a creature which has ingested a plastic
bag dies, it decays at a much faster rate
than the bag. When the animal has
decomposed, the bag is released back into
the environment, more or less intact - and
ready to be eaten by another misguided
animal or bird. |
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Plastic bags threaten urban environments as
well as natural ones: plastic bags in drains
were identified as major factors in the
severe floods in Bangladesh in 1988 and
1998. This resulted in a ban on plastic bags
being impose there in 2002. |
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India also is discouraging the use of
plastic bags nationwide. |
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Plastic bags are costly in money terms too,
both to produce and to clean up. |
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Plastic bags are made
from ethylene, a gas that occurs as a
by-product of oil, gas and coal production
(all non-renewables), which is transformed
into chains of hydrogen and carbon molecules
known as polymers or polymer resin. After
being heated, shaped, and cooled, the
plastic is ready to be flattened, sealed,
punched, or printed on. |
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Over 99 per cent of
plastic bags cannot be recycled. The ones
that are collected must be disposed of in
landfill sites. |
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There are three main types of plastic
shopping bags: |
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light filmy HDPE (high density
polyethylene), mostly used in
food outlets |
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heavier LDPE (low density
polyethylene) ones from clothing
stores etc |
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very thick glossy ones made from
linear low-density polyethylene
(LLDPE). |
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Manufacturers
don’t need to use plastic for
carrier bags. There are now an
increasing number of degradable
alternatives to plastic carrier
bags, including corn and potato
starch (which can even be
composted). |
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More and more
countries, states and towns are
taking action to ban plastic carrier
bags, including Australia,
Bangladesh, Botswana, California,
Denmark, France, Germany, India,
Italy, Philippines, Scotland,
Somalia, South Africa, Southern
Ireland; UK towns include Modbury,
Hebden Bridge and Stroud. |
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