Harmful Facts About Plastic Bags

Plastic grocery bags are a common sight in contemporary society. While they are extremely functional and easy to use, they have a number of negative effects on the environment and wallets.

Manufacture

• Plastic bag manufacturing requires the use of non-renewable fossil fuels, which releases toxic byproducts from its chemical processes.

Cost

• In the United States, retail businesses spend $4 billion each year on plastic bags used at checkout stands. This cost leads to higher prices for groceries and other items purchased by consumers.

Waste

• Fewer than 2 percent of all plastic bags in the United States are recycled, meaning that almost the same amount of energy and money must be expended each year for comparable levels of production.

Pollution

• Each year, discarded plastic bags are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of animals, especially marine mammals. Sea creatures mistake the bags for food.

Prevention/Solution

• Because of the range of negative effects produced by plastic bags, reusable cloth bags are becoming an important alternative for those who wish to curtail these harmful trends.