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Plastic Bag Dangers

It seems hard to believe that something as simple as a plastic bag could be the source of so many problems. But it can be. And in many cases, it's not just a single plastic bag doing all the damage. It's the combination of tens of millions. They're made from polyethylene, which comes from natural gas -- a nonrenewable resource. (Reference 1) And once they're here, only 1 to 3 percent get recycled. (Reference 1a) And that's just the beginning of the plastic bag dangers.

  1. Suffocation

    • According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, approximately 25 plastic bag suffocation deaths are reported each year. (Reference 2) They occur with dry cleaning bags, bags that may have been used for furniture and other types of storage bags. And it's not just a child pulling a bag over their head. In one instance, a child rolled off a bed onto a plastic bag that was filled with clothes. In another, a child was sleeping on a plastic covered mattress.

    Clogs Storm Drains

    • There's a reason why cities like Bangladesh and Mumbai ban plastic bags. During monsoon season, plastic bags that haven't been disposed of properly get caught in storm drains. This can cause clogging and eventually flooding. (Reference 3) Even in San Diego, plastic bags are the biggest source of pollution on the cities storm drain system. (Reference 1b)

    Environmentally Unsafe

    • Plastic bags aren't biodegradable. You can't put one in your compost heap and expect it to disintegrate in a few months. Instead, plastic bags photodegrade. The sun breaks them down to smaller bits until they become microscopic. But they never totally disintegrate, so they could be blowing in the air and polluting waterways indefinitely. (Reference 4)

    Damaging to Wildlife

    • Not knowing what plastic is, birds and fish often mistake it for food. According to the California Coastal Commission, gray whales have been found dead with plastic bags in their stomach. And not only do they eat it, they also feed it to their offspring. This leads to another problem. Eating plastic may make the animal feel full, eventually leading to starvation. (Reference 5)

    Potential

    • Although traditional plastic bags are dangerous to the environment, there are companies working to make them more eco-friendly. BioBag manufactures plastic bags that are 100 percent biodegradable and compostable. If you put a BioBag in a controlled composting environment for up to 45 days, it will completely decompose. That's because BioBags are basically made from cornstarch. (Reference 6 )

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