CRHS Environmental

Content:

Blowing in the Wind

by Sofia Peruzzi, CRHS PTSA Environmental Chair

Plastic bags are convenient, cheap, and compared to paper bags, require less energy to manufacture, are lighter, requiring less fuel to transport, and take up less space in landfills than paper bags. They also do not require the cutting of forests to manufacture. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors, with zippers and without. They are so practical, that the U.S. uses 100 billion plastic bags annually. [1] Who would consider carrying raw chicken in anything but a plastic bag? Does anyone walk their dog holding a paper or reusable bag?

Facts

*   The U.S. uses 100 Billion plastic bags annually made from an estimated 12 million barrels of oil.[1]
*   In 2002, 1% of plastic bags were recycled. [6]
*   It can cost $4,000 to process and recycle a ton of plastic bags that can then be resold in the commodities market for $34. [7] [1]
*   Over 100,000 marine animals die every year from plastic entanglement [12].

Although they are a great solution to many of life’s little problems, they can create havoc when they are not properly disposed. Plastic bags have become urban tumbleweeds that drift in the air on windy days and litter the streets. Some of these bags eventually find their way to our storm drains clogging them up. Bangladesh placed a ban on plastic bags in 2002 after they identified that plastic bags clogging drains played a major role in the floods of 1989 and 1998. [2] Bhutan, Rwanda and China have followed suit. In the U.S., San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles have also imposed bans on plastic bags. [3]

Most plastic bags are made from High-Density Polyethylene. This is the type of plastic that is labeled HDPE and has the recycling symbol with the number 2. Polyethylene bags are not biodegradable that is, capable of being fully metabolized by microorganisms and assimilated into the natural biological cycle in soil and water. It is commonly said that polyethylene plastic bags decompose in 500 to 1000 years, but no one really knows. [4] Scientists determine the rate of decomposition of a material or substance through respirometry. The material is immersed into a compost rich in microbes. As microbes decompose the substance, they release gases such as CO2 and consume O2. These gases are later measured and a rate of decomposition is determined. When they apply respirometry to plastic, they cannot get a quantifiable reading. In a landfill, this is not a problem. Landfills are designed in a way that inhibits biodegradation of even the most biodegradable foods. Layers of trash sandwiched in layers of soil, reduce the amount of air, light and water required for the biodegradation.

Plastic bags that litter the landscape and ocean will eventually photodegrade. Photodegradation is the process by which plastic breaks down into ever-smaller pieces when exposed to sunlight. This process can take more than 400 years depending on where the degradation takes place. These micro particles are still polymers that have the ability to absorb pollutants such as PCB’s and pesticides like DDT. [5] These small plastic particles can be consumed more easily by animals and enter the food chain.

Although plastic bag recycling is gaining momentum in the United States it is estimated that less than 1% of the plastic bags used in the U.S. are recycled. [6] According to Eco-Cycle of Boulder Colorado, plastic bag recycling puts the "Hard in Hard-to-Recycle”. They need to be clean, dry and empty. A dirty plastic bag can easily contaminate a whole batch of polyethylene that would then need to be land filled. The cost of recycling is very high. It costs around $4,000 to process and recycle a ton of plastic bags that can then be resold in the commodities market for $34. [7] Plastic bags collected are sorted by type and color, processes done by hand. The plastic is then melted at temperatures that are not high enough to eliminate many of the contaminants, yielding most often a product of inferior quality than the virgin material. This makes it less attractive for manufacturers to use. Sixty-four percent of plastic bags recycled go into manufacturing of construction materials. [8] These materials are not recyclable in today’s market.

In India, ragpickers collect anything that they deem of value to sell.[9] For them, plastic bags are worthless. Cows roaming the streets end up consuming the bags. [10] In 1999, the NY Times reported that veterinarians had removed 4,000 plastic bags from the stomach of a cow in Gajarat, a state in western India. [11]

The plastic bags that make their way to rivers and oceans become a hazard for marine wildlife that often mistake it for food. According to Earth Source, over 100,000 marine animals die every year from plastic entanglement. [12] In February of this year, the Daily Mail reported that the body of a Cuvier’s beaked whale washed on to the shore of the British, Isle of Mull. Its stomach contained 23 plastic bags. Plastic bags can lodge in the stomach of an animal reducing its capacity. The animal can then become malnourished. Plastic bags that bob up and down in the water look like seaweed or jellyfish, the primary source of food for turtles. Turtles that eat plastic have trouble submerging to find food. Albatrosses that live on Midway Atoll ingest plastic that they find floating in the ocean; it is probably mistaken for the brightly colored eggs of the flying fish. Plastics can comprise up to 50% of the indigestible material in an albatross' intestinal tract [12]. Albatross mothers feed their chicks by regurgitating food into their mouth. It is in this manner that many albatross chicks ingest plastic and die.

Over 12 million barrels of oil go into the manufacturing of polyethylene bags each year. It takes 1.75 lbs of petroleum (in terms of energy and raw materials) to make one pound of HDPE. [13] Today, America is looking for ways to reduce its foreign oil dependence. An easy way that we can help accomplish this is by using reusable shopping bags every time we go to the store, thus reducing the number of single-use plastic bags that we use each week. According to the EPA, using a sturdy bag 11 times has a lower environmental impact than using 11 one-time use HDPE shopping bags. [6]

We have many good reasons to reduce our use of plastic bags. Now you can support the Cinco Ranch High School Orchestra and do something good for the environment at the same time by purchasing a sturdy, fashionable and reusable bag for you to use next time that you go shopping.

Reference:

[1] Brenna Maloney and Laura Stanton. “Paper or Plastic?” washingtonpost.com. August 16, 2008. The Washington Post. August 25, 2008 < http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/10/03/GR2007100301385.html>

[2] “Bangladesh to ban plastic bags in capital city.” edie. December 13, 2001. Environmental Data Interactive Exchange. August 25, 2008 < http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=5029>

[3] “Slideshow: The dangers of plastic bags.” Pocono Record. May 6, 2008. 5/6/2008 Pocono Record. August 25, 2008 < http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016>

[4] Juliet Lapidos. “The Future Plastic China's plastic-bag ban.” Slate. Monday, June 9, 2008. Slate. August 25, 2008 < http://www.slate.com/id/2193256/>

[5] “Plastic Debris from Rivers to Sea.” Algalita Marine Research Foundation. August 25, 2008 <http://www.algalita.org/pdf/PLASTIC%20DEBRIS%20ENGLISH.pdf>

[6] “Questions About Your Community: Shopping Bags: Paper or Plastic or . . .?” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Last updated on Tuesday, February 28th, 2006. EPA. August 25, 2008 <http://web.archive.org/web/20060426235724/http%3A//www.epa.gov/region1/communities/shopbags.html>

[7] “Recycling Can Fix This, Right?” Reusablebags.com. August 25, 2008<http://www.reusablebags.com/facts.php?id=5>

[8] “2006 National Plastic Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Bag and Film Report.” americanchemistry. 2006. American Chemistry. August 25, 2008 <http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_plastics/doc.asp?CID=1593&DID=7140>

[9] Lovejit Dhaliwal. “Bombay gets tough on plastic bags.” BBC News. Monday, 14 May, 2001, 13:02 GMT 14:02 UK. BBC. August 25, 2008 < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1329600.stm>

[10] The Bryant Park Project “Using What Threatens Cows in India to Save Them.” NPR. June 10, 2008. National Public Radio. August 25, 2008 <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91342761>

[11] “September 12-18; The Plastic Bag Diet.” The New York Times. September 19, 1999. The New York Times. August 25, 2008 <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE5DC113CF93AA2575AC0A96F958260>

[12] “Campaign Against the Plastic Plague Background Info.” Earth Resource Foundation. August 10, 2008. Earth Resource Foundation. August 25, 2008. < http://www.earthresource.org/campaigns/capp/capp-background-info.html>

[13] “Marine Debris: Cigarette Lighters and the Plastic Problem on Midway Atoll.” Kamehameha Middle School. Summer 2003. Kamehameha Middle School. August 25, 2008 <http://kms.kapalama.ksbe.edu/projects/2003/albatross/>

[14] “High-density polyethylene.” Wikipedia. August 20, 2008.Wikipedia. August 25, 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDPE>

	CRHS Environmental Committee WORKING TO PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS
	CHAIRMAN: SOFIA PERUZZI