Are Biodegradable Bags a Solution?
October 7, 2009 – 11:43 pm by MarinaHanes
Plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to degrade. But not only are they wasteful, when people litter them, animals lives are at risk. Animals often mistake the bags as food or they can get tangled up in them. Eliminating litter is helpful, because plastic products make up the majority of litter; however, our use of plastic bags is no longer being tolerated. Grocery stores are providing reusable bags, and there has also been a push to use biodegradable bags, which are recycled back into the Earth at a quicker rate than the conventional plastic bags.
As with any new product, biodegradable bags have advantages and disadvantages. As for the advantages, probably the highest one is that they breakdown within 18 months or less. Some biodegradable bags can even be composted. In addition, these bags can easily replace the plastic bags that we use to carry our groceries, clean up dog poop, carry trash, etc.
State parks in Maryland have resorted to using biodegradable bags so that park visitors can clean up their trash in a more environmentally friendly way. These biodegradable bags are made from corn or tapioca, which are renewable plants, and these bags decompose within six to 10 months. Other areas like Baltimore City and Annapolis have been considering banning plastic bags used in grocery stores to help support more eco-friendly bags.
While biodegradable bags seem eco-friendly, they may be causing more problems and some are not as efficient. One issue with using biodegradable bags is that they do not solve the consumption problem. Although the public will not be using plastic bags as much, they will still be purchasing the biodegradable ones, which require energy and natural resources to produce. If the public tries to recycle the biodegradable bags with plastic bags, it can cause problems for the recycling systems. Also the bags don’t solve littering, and people might litter more if they know the bag is biodegradable. And finally, depending on what the bag is made out of, it could cause problems for marine life. For example, when starch-based bags breakdown in water, they use up the oxygen that is essential for the survival of algae blooms and marine life.
Biodegradable bags have potential, but the public needs to be educated on how to use them properly so that more harm isn’t done to the environment.
One Response to “Are Biodegradable Bags a Solution?”
Biodegradable bags usually require either sunlight or oxygen to degrade. Since all refuse discarded in a landfill is covered up at the end of the day, I am uncertain as to how these bags actually degrade. The best solution are bags made from 100% recycled plastics. Look for them. They are on the market.
By Terry on Oct 8, 2009