"Plastic Bags"

I. Why are plastic bags so common?

Because they are so cheap to produce and they were made to substitute the paper bags because with the paper bags there was a lot of deforestation.

II. In what other ways is plastic used?

Plastic is used in many other ways that and we don´t even notice it because it´s part of our daily life like in your bottle of water the plate at your table there are many uses for it.

III. What are the benefits of plastic bags?

They are very practical for the daily use they also are very cheap to make and easy to produce also they are aerodynamic which makes them easy to carry. Also the initial purpose of this bags was to stop deforestation, because of the making of paper bags.

IV. What are the dangers of plastic bags?

They don´t biodegradate and only 1% of the world bags is recycled every year.
They also end up in small pieces that are more difficult to get. Also they end up in the waters especially in the ocean it´s were it affects the most because the animals that leave there can get killed very easily or trapped in a plastic bag. “100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die every year because of this problem.”

V. What has been done so far?

There are a lot of campaigns that proposed to use paper bags instead of plastic since 2002. But nothing has been done.
There are also some factories that are dedicated to recycle but it very difficult for them to get along with these because these plastic bags come with a lot of things with them.

VI. Has it been successful? Why or why not?

Well there are a lot of projects going on but the most successful of all was the one made in Taiwan. This campaign was about forcing the people to bring their own bags to stores but this didn´t work quite well so a designer decided to do a fashion bomb; with the campaign "I am not a plastic bag" by Anya Hindmarch's.
There is also another project that had moved people in a certain way, but not as much as the Anaya’s campaign. It is about charging for every bag you take home.


a. What are some of the potential benefits of charging fees for and/or banning plastic bags?

To reduce the number of plastic bags each people carry home, because they have to pay for each bag. Also this will make people be conscious and take their own “ecological” bags to the supermarket.

b. What are some of the potential drawbacks of such programs?

The economy will begin to decline that´s why no state had definitely done it.

c. Which benefits and drawbacks seem the most compelling? Why?

The benefits are very clear this will reduce the number of plastic bags “wasted”, but in consequence this will affect in a big way the economy of these countries. It will also make us go back to the same problem as before “not using paper bags”.

d. Would you support a local law charging fees for (or banning) plastic bags? Why or why not?

Of course I will support them, because I really care about the environment and it´s conservation. Also I think it is important to learn “not to waste”.