Plastic bags and the environment

However, while they may be very convenient, plastic bags have grave consequences on the environment. For starters, they practically never biodegrade as they take hundreds of years to fully decompose. Once released into the environment, they cause animals to suffocate and die.

Furthermore, they are made from fossil fuels which are steadily on the decline and their manufacturing adds tonnes of carbon emissions into the air annually.

Fortunately, there is something that each and every one of us can do to minimise the impact of these plastic bags on our environment. Here are a few tips on how to reuse plastic bags so that there is no need to keep manufacturing more.

1 . Use them to　line small trash cans in your home office or bathroom.

2. Keep a few in your suitcase to separate dirty clothes while travelling. 

3.  Donate them to local food pantries, used book stores, thrift stores and libraries so they don’t have to buy their own. 

4. Use them as packaging materials. 

5. Place unripe fruits or green tomatoes in an open plastic bag. The bag traps ethylene, the natural gas released by ripening fruit while still providing ventilation that helps fruit ripen faster. 

 - Dear Sir Thanks for this article on plastic bags and the author brought up a very vital subject which seems to be ignored in this part of the world. In as much as I commend the Author for bringing it up, I somehow feel it was not as exhaustive as its seriousness merits. The lavish(excessive) way in which plastic bags are used here leaves a lot to be desired. Buy a E5 chocolate in the supermarket you will get a plastic bag for it. Buy a water bottle that you are about to drink you get a plastic bag that you straight away throw into a trash bin together with the plastic empty bottle. Burning plastic is not only hazardous to our health; it's also hazardous to the environment. It is high time we act collectively as a nation to find ways to minimize this excess use of plastic. Maybe we should take a leaf from how other countries are minimizing the use of plastic especially carrier bags. For example, just across in South Africa carrier bags in Supermarkets are charged on top of the merchandise purchased especially grocery. So charging a small fee will force people to re-use the carrier bags instead of just throwing them. Campaigns should be carried out to make people aware of the dangers of use of plastic and careless discarding of them. Like the author says; plastic will take many years to degrade (rot), and is poison to livestock. As we progress this plastic might because major worry to us hence this is the right time for those involved in environmental health to start acting. Thank you
August 10, 2012, 11:14 am, Chris Mncedisi (chrismncedisi@yahoo.com)

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