The Effect of the Use and Production of Polybags
The use and production of polybags do a great deal of harm to our environment and drainage system to air, water and soil. Plastic bags tend to disrupt the environment in a serious way. In our country, thousands of pieces of polythenes are being used every day. This huge amount of polythene is neither being re-used nor being decomposed in a natural way. We use disposable plastic shopping bags out of convenience and ignorance of their seriously negative consequences. They get into the soil and slowly release toxic chemicals. They eventually break down into the soil, with the unfortunate result being that animals eat them and often choke and die. Plastic bags continually cause harm to natural environments from the beginning to the end of their life cycle.
Most of the bags are just thrown out after their first use. They find their way into the drains. Then the polybags block our drainage system, barricade regular flow of water obstructs the rainwater flowing into the drains, etc. As a result of low-lying areas in the cities frequently go underwater. A flood occurs every now and then. Whenever these polybags go inside the cultivable land, it loses fertility and crops do not grow in such lands. Polybags remain unchanged like a curtain through which nothing can pass. So the land does not irrigate water. Polybags are burnt to get rid of its direct effect but some emitting from poly fire pollutes our air in a massive way. Such pollution is very harmful to human health. Animals suffer harm at the hands of plastic bags in a number of ways. One of the greatest problems is that an estimated 300 million plastic bags end up in the Atlantic Ocean alone. These bags are very dangerous for sea life, especially those of the mammal variety. Many animals including both terrestrial and aquatic varieties – eat plastic bags, and suffer from serious health problems once they do. The majority of wildlife on Earth is in our seas and oceans. This means there are hundreds of other animals and birds who are at risk of injury and death by ingesting or being entangled in plastic bag flotsam.
There are always alternatives to plastic bags and the search for more alternatives continues. Because of the huge use of polythene, our traditional jute and cloth bags have lost their market. They are now out of use. Jute and cloth bags can be used several times whereas polybags are used only once. So polybags are a waste of money. It is true that recycling plastic bags is problematic. That is the reason it is best to reuse plastic bags as much as possible. So the government should ban the use and production of polybags making laws.
