Here’s a paper our very own Abby Thompson, ace barista, wrote for her English class at Sandhills Community College.

Let’s talk about a plastic bag named Gary. Gary was put into action inside of a Walmart to carry some soda. Later that night he would end up in a trash bin at the beach. This trash bin was blown over by a gust and until this day Gary is floating in the ocean. He just wants to start again but it’s much more likely that he’ll be eaten by a sea creature or join a mass of waste “now estimated to be twice the size of Texas.” 

Every American family has a plastic bag full of other plastic bags somewhere in their house – and they keep adding more bags all the time. Since the 1960s, when many in the United States were worried about cutting down too many trees in order to supply the demand for paper grocery bags, plastic bags have been in vogue. Little did society know that using plastic bags is more harmful than using paper bags. Even though plastic bags are convenient and less expensive than paper, they should be banned in grocery stores because they aren’t biodegradable and because of their negative impacts on Earth and its inhabitants.

The plastic bag was invented in the 1960s and by the 1980s plastic bags became more common than paper bags. Many major companies like Kroger began replacing their paper bags with plastic bags. This change created the illusion that plastic bags were more helpful than harmful to society. At the time all this change was happening, society did not know about the future impacts of plastic. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for major grocery stores “and other department stores to realize that plastic bags were stronger and cheaper.” Once this trend spread throughout the United States it was not unusual to see plastic bags littered all around the environment. 

One major impact of plastic bags on the environment is that they are not biodegradable; instead, they photodegrade. The act of photodegrading is when “a substance is altered via photons, especially those found in the wavelengths of the sun’s rays.” The alteration that occurs in the sunlight breaks down the plastic bag into smaller and smaller toxic bits that can be microscopic. This process can take years or even centuries to happen. Additionally, it is important to note that photodegradation takes much longer in the ocean than it does on land. This is due to the lack of sunlight and or oxygen present in the ocean. The toxic bits that are left behind by the bags eventually make it into the soil and waterways. When this happens it is common for bits or even whole bags to make their way into the digestive tracts of wildlife or even humans. Intermittently, microorganisms will consume the toxic bits and produce CO2. This is a potentially never-ending cycle that drastically impacts the environment of our beautiful planet and harms our health. It is our responsibility to stop this cycle.

While much of the plastic ends up on the side of the road, a lot, unfortunately, lands in our oceans. The world as a whole produces about 260 million tons of plastic each year. About 10 percent of this waste will end up in the ocean. Much of this plastic waste will then be mistakenly eaten by sea creatures. When plastic enters their digestive tract, it does not break down and often tends to fill the animals’ stomach. This then leads to the animal feeling full and eventually dying from malnutrition and/or starvation. As a matter of fact, “researchers from the University of Queensland recently determined that approximately 52 percent of the world’s sea turtles have eaten plastic debris – much of it undoubtedly originating in the form of plastic bags.” 

China is by far the largest carbon emitter and purveyor of deforestation. China, in an effort to curb its humongous plastic pollution issue, has rolled out a new plan. In general terms, the plan is to sort plastic garbage into more intensive categories than we have ever sorted it here; for example, wet, dry and hazardous. As of July 1, 2019, this process is mandatory for all Chinese residents. Non-complying citizens are fined.

The Earth’s air, soil and water have paid the heaviest price for the astonishing economic growth of the P.R.C.  A major factor is the inability of the government’s sanitation programs to keep pace with the creation of the largest middle class on the planet. In other words, the most powerful force of consumption on the planet – the middle class – has been created within the past couple of decades without a system in place to handle its waste. Given the interconnectivity of not just the global marketplace but of the world’s environment, initiatives must be implemented to reduce plastic pollution and re-use this non-biodegradable substance.

A positive example is the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, which is modernizing its solid waste management policy by composting and using only clear garbage bags. The use of clear garbage bags prevents residents from disposing of improper materials into their waste receptacles. Nova Scotia determined that the clear trash bags were solely responsible for a 31 percent decrease in improper waste disposal. The mayor of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Mike Savage, stated, “We’re a leader in how we manage solid waste, I think we want to continue to be.”

It is not just nation-states that are leading the charge in plastic bag pollution reduction. Many major grocery stores are seeing this change in society and wanting to contribute. Kroger, a nationwide grocery chain, was one of the first to begin supplying plastics bags, but was also one of the first to ban plastic bags. In recognition of their customers’ desire to stem the tide of plastic waste, Kroger altered their grocery bagging process. This is a textbook example of corporate consumer-inspired change. The overall desired result is “that all of [their] 2,800 grocery stores nationwide will completely stop using plastic bags by 2025.” 

Leading the charge in the philanthropic arena of combating plastic pollution is the group 4Ocean, which is working not just to remove plastic from our oceans but to provide inspiration for regular people to devote their resources to the issue. When you donate to 4ocean you receive a bracelet in return, which represents a pound of ocean plastic debris. There is a misconception that environmental cleanup is always an economic drain. 4ocean has created local jobs in the cleanup process. They have converted a fishing economy into one of environmental protection and waste removal. 

We can all make a difference and by banning the use of plastic bags we can join in a combined effort to make our Earth a beautiful and healthy ecosystem.