Environment
Some figures
- A plastic bag takes over 1,000 years to decompose.
- Each man receives for free 216 plastic bags per year on average.
- And these plastic bags are used only 12 minutes before being thrown away.
- Barely 1% bags are eventually recycled.
- About 80% of marine waste is plastic.
- Plastic polymer resin is so resistant that plastic takes hundreds of years before decomposing in the ocean.
- More than a million sea birds and more than 100 000 marine mammals - not to mention the uncountable amount of fish - die each year because of the ingestion of plastic waste.
Everything you should know about recycling
Plastic bags are rarely recycled: in the US, the recycling rate is estimated between 1% and 3%.
This type of bag is not readily decomposed in natural environments or in landfills. It doesn't biodegrades: It photo degrades. This process can last more than 1 000 years to reduce the bags in more and more small particles (often toxic to ecosystems).
Thus, it costs more to recycle plastic bags for reintegrating them into the market than to make new ones.
Cliquez ici pour voir la video: "Le plastique n'est pas fantastique"
The environmental cost of plastic bags
Environmental degradation is caused by plastic bags. The plastic represents 80% of the volume of waste spread on roads, in parks and on beaches and makes up to 90% of waste floating in the Ocean (CEB).
In each square kilometer of ocean, there are 46 000 floating wastes. They act as a kind of sponge for chemicals (PCBs and DDE).
Many cows, goats and other animals suffer the same fate by eating plastic bags by accident.
No one can set a price on the environment. The plastic bags use by the world's population cause countless damages on animals. The replacement of the plastic bag by a reusable bag would curb this ecological disaster.
What can be done to change things?
The United Nations wants to bans plastic bags in the world to save the oceans.
The United Nations published a complete report on waste in the world of the oceans. The UNO identified plastic as being the most common form of waste in the ocean. When the plastic in the marine food chain, this can devastate it, and even affect the human when he consumes seafood including plastic fragments.
Restrict and prohibit plastic bags consumption
Ireland reduced consumption of plastic bag to 90% by the perception of a fee on each bag.
Bangladesh banned plastic bags consumption in 2002.
China has prohibited the free distribution of plastic bags, which allowed saving 27 million barrels of oil. Violators can be amended up to $1,464. A national survey reported that the number of bags distributed in grocery stores fell from 40 billion after the implementation of the Act.
The city of San Francisco banned the sale and distribution of plastic bags in stores.
The objective of reducing the impact of plastic bags is part of the agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom and the industry, in February 2007, which result was the reduction of the number of bags.
They are so widespread in certain regions of the world that are called "national flower" in South Africa or "white pollution" in China.em>
Participation of retailers and consumers*
These last two years, WRAP has collected data and controlled the initiatives of the retailers, who wish to reduce the environmental impact of plastic bags, while encouraging the reuse of bags, through reward programs, promotion and pricing of bags.
- The reduction of the environmental impact of plastic bags is, according to WRAP (waste and resources action Programme) of 25% in late 2008.
This outcome also reflects the active participation of consumers.
The reduction of the environmental impact of plastic bags is, according to WRAP (waste and resources action Programme) of 25% in late 2008.