Reusable Bags Essay

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Reducing Plastic Bags Means Saving the Earth In 2009, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 660,000 tons of plastic bags and 3,190 tons of plastic wrap were produced; only 9.4 percent of the total plastics produced were recycled (Schuster 2). This data evidently shows that there were loads of plastic bags and plastic wraps generated each year nationwide; however, there were a small percentage of recycled plastics. Consequently, all of the plastic bags that are not recycled cause both environmental problems and a wasteful community. As a result, the federal government should take steps to regulate and decrease the use of plastic bags in local stores, supermarkets, and cities. First of all, plastic bags have an enormous impact on the surroundings. Since plastic bags are so thin and weightless, they can fly miles after miles without a clear destination. For this reason plastic bags are littered instead of being used efficiently. In his article “Is It Time to Bag the Plastic? Environmental Solution Is at the Checkout Stand; The Conversation” Kirsten James reveals the effect that plastic bags have on the environment both on land and ocean, and also add to the waste in public. Drain pipes lead to beaches, so after it rains trash is washed up on beaches. James states that “Our state’s urban beaches look like trash dumps after a storm” (1). If people do not reduce the number of plastic bags usage, these numbers will keep increasing to landfill and American will be live in an unsanitary country. Figure 1 The sea turtle mistakenly consumes plastic bag and thought it is food. Figure 2 A plastic bag get stuck on a bird. Not only do plastic bags have impact on dry land, they also affect oceans as well. When plastic bags land on the sea or the ocean, they pollute the deep-sea and also affect marine life. In some cases oceanic creatures end up consuming

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