Plastic bags

Plastic bags are a big problem when it comes to plastic in the oceans. Lots of marine animals eat plastic bags every day. We need to use less plastic bags in order to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in the sea. The fish that die as a result of plastic bags are large quantities. But turtles and seals are also affected by the plastic bags as they get stuck in the bags and can't get away.

To buy new plastic bags every time we shop is unsustainable. Not only because they end up in nature, but also because resources are used in the form of oil to manufacture them. Some plastic bags are made of other materials like sugarcane and corn. If we reduce the plastic consumption, we would allow the earth to have a chance to recover and we could clean up after our mistakes in throwing plastic into the environment. Plastic bags don't break down in the environment, instead they turn into microplastics that are not good for animals and plants. This process takes about 10-15 years for a regular plastic bag. A bag made of corn breaks down much faster. And if it ends up in the environment, it would mean that it breaks down faster because it is made of natural materials that the nature is able to break down and take care of.

But there are more options than environmental bags. Among other things, fabric bags. It could also be a replacement for the plastic bags. The good thing about cloth bags is that you can use them a lot of times without getting worn out.

But there are certainly many people who would say that so much water is needed to produce the cotton for the fabric bags. Yes, it is true that it takes a lot of water and chemicals, but then you can instead make cloth bags from recycled fabric from, for example, old clothes. Then we use the fabric for something good and you do not have to manufacture new things when there are other options. In addition, there is organic cotton which is not sprayed with various chemicals, but a lot of water is still used.

The best thing about fabric bags is that you can use them many times. This in turn would mean that you would not have to use any plastic bags. Which would mean that we could reduce the production of plastic bags and that would reduce the use of oil from which plastic bags are made.

So, there are a lot of both positive and negative aspects to take into account when it comes to what kind of bag you use when shopping. But what can be said is that we should stop using ordinary plastic bags and replace them with, for example, cloth bags or environmental bags produced from corn or sugarcane that the nature can take care of. So next time you go to the store and go shopping, be sure to bring a bag from home or buy an environmental bag.

Ida Ejdestig
Nb18A