Isn’t it a part of our lifestyle: A Plastic Polythene Bag? “Then Make It The Biggest Part of Our Life to SAVE ENVIRONMENT”

-Kamal Shrestha (WPSUN: 20200701C)

Making a Rope by twisting a plastic shopping poly bag. Image source: http://www.malenaskote.se/

When we enter into kitchen, we find full of plastic polybags in dustbin, inside drawers, and in some other places outside. We bring it inside in the name of buying vegetables, fruits and food items from a grocery shop or supermarket . And, when we have a great shopping, we do have lots of plastic poly bags usually! Then why not can it be a great misery that will happen in near future in our beautiful surroundings?

Why do you see most of the outside places full of plastic poly bags? In our day to day life, a plastic polythene bag is our friendly and helpful bag to pack things and carry things easily. It is widely used from small scale business- grocery store to large scale business- Supermarket. Due to its flexibility, durability, handy, moldable, transparent in various colors and even looking more attractive with beautiful designs in fashionable styles allure people to use more and more. And the more they use the more they throw it easily.

According to the Theworldcounts.com— We use 100 million tons of plastic every year. Some 10 percent of this plastic end up in the oceans. An estimated 300 million plastic bags every year end up in the Atlantic Ocean alone. Less than 1 percent are recycled. They are most often made from Polyethylene that takes centuries to degrade.

A Plastic Polythene Bags are made by thin flexible sheets of plastic roll. The name of the material is polyethylene. According to Britannica.com Polyethylene (PE), light, versatile synthetic resin made from the polymerization of ethylene. Polyethylene is a member of the important family of polyolefin resins. It is the most widely used plastic in the world, being made into products ranging from clear food wrap and shopping bags to detergent bottles and automobile fuel tanks.

Advantages of Plastic Polythene Bags

Plastic Polythene Bags were invented to save the environment of Earth in 1959 because maximum use of paper bags might have chance of chopping down more trees which would have greater negative impact on Earth’s surface and surroundings. Some of the advantages of Plastic Polythene Bags are as follows:

1. The Poly bags are light weight and very useful to carry solid items, liquid items, packets, goods, vegetables, foods, etc. which is very friendly and highly economical.
2. It is far better than clothe and paper bags because it is durable and can be used in bad weather conditions as well.
3. It ensures the product well-preserved at all times. It protects from moisture, dust, light and oxygen.
4. It uses lesser energy to produce in comparison to other packaging alternative and it can be reusable, recycled and utilize in various ways.
5. It takes less space to store it and easy to deliver one place to another.

Disadvantages of Plastic Polythene Bags

Though Plastic Poly bags were developed as an another option to paper bags to save trees from the Earth, it became even more dangerous to harm the surroundings of Earth in a different way due to the one time use and throw everywhere concept built in the people’s mind. Some of the disadvantages of Plastic Poly bags are as follows:

1. If we be closure to observe in our near about surroundings- street dogs, cows, oxen and other animals are consuming it with their food. They get severe disease at last and die.
2. Animals, birds, sea creatures and fish are also getting entangled when it comes to their way and die of hunger.
3. It is polluting our land and water. Everywhere we find the poly bags tangled in trees, flying in the skies and lying on the grounds. It makes the land infertile because of its chemical.
4. Great numbers of discarded plastic poly bags create a blockage problem in drainage channels, sewers and even in stream and rivers in most of the urban areas.
5. It contributes to global climate change as it is made of up non-renewable energies.
6. Living beings in sea and ocean are in great risk as they consume it or entangle badly and taking place of them rapidly.
7. It is destroying our human health as well by consuming it as a tiny particle with water and other liquor product unknowingly.

HOW TO MAKE A PLASTIC POLY BAG THE BIGGEST PART OF OUR LIFE TO SAVE ENVIRONMENT?

It’s an emerging issue to save our environment to make the plastic poly bags as our part of life. But, how is it possible?

Though it has advantages and disadvantages of use in our surroundings, we cannot stop and I say it is impossible to stop to use plastic polythene bag in the world. Because this is more convenient and consumer friendly product to carry, pack and keep things perfectly. And the more important and reality is we cannot stop completely to use it, though we are in need of best alternative option of it considering its disadvantages.

The possible way to use it and utilize it in various ways to reduce waste of poly bags to make a plastic poly bag the biggest part of our life to save environment are:

1. USE IT MORE, THE MORE YOU CAN, THE SAME PLASTIC POLY BAGS— Go Shopping more times with the same Poly Bags. Think Plastic Poly bags are not mean to be invented only to be “ONE TIME USE & THROW ANYWHERE”.
2. Collect, clean and dry it if it is applicable to the recycled company.
3. Think about things we can make from Plastic Poly bags. We can make rugs, bracelets, flowers, baskets, bags, ropes, recycled clothing, etc. It is a most to work on it by the people around the globe.
   
   a. If you are interested to make coiled basket. Please visit this tutorial:
   http://www.malenaskote.se/blogg/2016/10/10/recycling-plastic-bags-how-to-make-a-coiled-basket/
   b. LEARN PLASTIC BAG CROCHET: https://bagsbegone.com/learn/
   c. How to Crochet a Plastic Sleeping Mat: https://www.finecraftguild.com/craft-for-humanity-crochet-a-plastic-sleeping-mat-for-the-homeless/
   d.  Learn how to fuse plastic? : https://www.flickr.com/photos/soshesews/sets/72157618117519922/with/3529459575/

SUGGESTIONS & ADVICE

1. Make the people aware Plastic Polythene bags are not mean to be “ONE TIME USE & THROW ANYWHERE”. Run a campaign— USE IT MORE, THE MORE YOU CAN, THE SAME PLASTIC POLY BAGS.
2. Government should make a plan to collect Plastic bags from the waste and after using it from the citizens paying according to their quantity of collection.
3. Use Reusable bags or bamboo basket to carry vegetables. Think about alternative options instead of using plastic poly bags.
4. If you have used it then dispose properly according to the guidelines of environment or send it to recycle. If not then think about making the things from it.
5. On the day of Environment, every people must be mobilized to pick up the poly bags from anywhere and collect it for proper disposal.
6. Suggest manufactures to produce biodegradable plastic bags widely which would take less production cost and only takes 3 to 6 months to decompose according to the temperature and amount of moisture present. This product is fully eco-friendly so replace Plastic Polythene Bag by Biodegradable Plastic Bags.

To conclude, it is inevitable to use plastic poly bags in our daily life. We have seen it everywhere so make it USE More times the same poly bag and dispose properly once it cannot be reuse. Decode PROXY: A YES Mindset to SPREAD PEACE and SAVE ENVIRONMENT Notion helped a lot to deal with the plastic polythene bags to SAVE ENVIRONMENT on its height.

(Can you please visit my post about Decode PROXY and register on it to SPREAD PEACE & SAVE ENVIRONMENT movement? https://kamalsbloggingcafe.wordpress.com/2020/08/22/decodeproxy/)