Bring Your Own Bag and Help Saving Plastic Bags

Abstract

The most visually obvious environmental issue concerning people is the over use of plastic and paper bags. Littering of the landscape, clogging the waterways and endangering wildlife as well as humans are the only a few of the detrimental results of using plastic bags. Plastic bags takes hundreds of years to decompose and the recycling rate is very low. It is made out of many harmful chemicals (such as BPA, HDPE, LLDPE, ethylene) which have negative effects on the environment, as well as to human health. Plastic bags are mistakenly eaten by marine animals and clog their intestines which results in death by starvation. Plastic bags float and mislead marine animals such as turtles that swallow them as food. Also, chemicals such as BPA have negative health effects toward humans, which include disruption of reproduction, as well as endocrine dysfunctions. To avoid this environmental and health issue, one needs to avoid the use of plastic bags and create an alternative path to get a risk-free environment worldwide. In order to have big changes, small changes are necessary. Together we, the students at Rutgers, can make a change. There are many ways to produce less waste and for that we say reduce, reuse and recycle. However, people don’t realize that reduce and reuse come before recycle. We can reduce and reuse plastic bags which are used at Rutgers dining hall takeout services. By acknowledging students about this issue, banning plastic bags and using cloth or reusable canvas bags instead are the ways to control this issue. (SS)