Carrier Bags Research Articles

Marine degradation and ecotoxicity of conventional, recycled and compostable plastic bags

Plastic bags are currently a major component of marine litter, causing aesthetical nuisance, and undesirable effects on marine fauna that ingest them or are entangled. Plastic litter also rises concern on the ecotoxicological effects due to the potential toxicity of the chemical additives leached in aquatic environments. Conventional plastic bags are made of polyethylene, either from first use or recycled, but regulations restricting single-use plastics and limiting lightweight carrier bags (<50 μm thickness) have fostered the replacement of thin PE bags by compostable materials advertised as safer for the environment. In this study, we assess the degradation of commercially available plastic bags in marine conditions at two scales: aquariums (60 days) and outdoors flow-through mesocosm (120 days). Strength at break point and other tensile strength parameters were used as ecologically relevant endpoints to track mechanical degradation. Ecotoxicity has been assessed along the incubation period using the sensitive Paracentrotus lividus embryo test. Whereas PE bags did not substantially lose their mechanical properties within the 60 d aquarium exposures, compostable bags showed remarkable weight loss and tensile strength decay, some of them fragmenting in the aquarium after 3–4 weeks. Sediment pore water inoculum promoted a more rapid degradation of compostable bags, while nutrient addition pattern did not affect the degradation rate. Longer-term mesocosms exposures supported these findings, as well as pointed out the influence of the microbial processes on the degradation efficiency of compostable/bioplastic bags. Compostable materials, in contrast toPE, showed moderate toxicity on sea-urchin larvae, partially associated to degradation of these materials, but the environmental implications of these findings remain to be assessed. These methods proved to be useful to classify plastic materials, according to their degradability in marine conditions, in a remarkably shorter time than current standard tests and promote new materials safer for the marine fauna.

On Arcs, Arrows, and Eating with One’s Hands as if There’s No Tomorrow: Some Notes on Bonnie Honig’s A Feminist Theory of Refusal

In this essay, I explore some key notions in Bonnie Honig's A Feminist Theory of Refusal. Juxtaposing her speculative reading of Euripides' Bacchae to Ursula K Le Guin's essay on the 'Carrier Bag Theory of Storytelling,' I argue that the women in the tragedy can be considered neither as imitating masculine, violent hunter-heroes, nor as surreptiously embodying feminine, caring gatherer-mothers. Following their refusal to care and to think about tomorrow, I conclude by suggesting that a critical fabulation of the women's acts of refusal should steer clear from expecting them to inspire us, as contemporary feminists.

Investigating the Crash Protection Performance of a Medical Carrier Bag for Drone Transport

Background: Drone transport regulations in Europe require a crash-protected container (CPC) to be used for the carriage of dangerous goods. With increasing interest in the use of drones for medical logistics, the motivation behind this research was to investigate whether the existing approved medical carriers could also pass as CPCs. To date, there has been little practical experimentation on or theoretical research into the crash protection performance of medical containers. Methods: Addressing this gap, this paper reports findings from a series of drop test experiments to investigate the crashworthiness of a standard medical carrier bag used by the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. Th drop tests were performed from heights of up to 122 m using standard medical carriers containing bags of dyed saline to examine the robustness of the carrier and whether it could contain any leakages, a key requirement for transporting dangerous goods. Results: The tests found that the medical carrier failed on some drops, with the zipped lid being identified as the main weakness. Conclusions: A new understanding of the carrier’s terminal velocity, impact acceleration, and failure mechanisms were gained and subsequent strengthening and waterproofing remedial measures recommended. New insights and practical recommendations are provided relating to performing formal drop tests and how to conduct these using a drone.

To(o) Queer the Analyst: Lesbiana, Junguiana and Sudamericana. Towards Woven Onto-Epistemologies.

This is a two-part paper: in the first one, a personal story serves as a conceptual prism through which I address the issue of how a queer analyst can be a problem for analytical psychology; in the second, I present some readings and images-mostly from decolonial feminisms-that have been of interest to me lately in my path to queer Jungian psychology, that is, to de-essentialize and de-individualize its theory and practice. By borrowing (and altering) the title from Gloria Anzaldúa's (1991/2009a) essay "To(o) queer the writer", this paper explores some themes she has elaborated there on solidarity, theorization and ways of writing and reading from othered points of view. In dialogue with Donna Haraway's (2016) Staying with the Trouble and Ursula K. Le Guin's (1989/2000) The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction, together with the imagery of bags, weaving and string figures game, this paper aims to explore the potential of what I have called "woven onto-epistemologies". By imagining and developing this new condition of knowledge, other stories and theories in analytical psychology may have an opportunity to be told.

Consumers confused 'Where to dispose biodegradable plastics?': A study of three waste streams.

Biodegradable plastics, either fossil- or biobased, are often promoted due to their biodegradability and acclaimed environmental friendliness. However, as demonstrated by previous literature, considerable confusion exists about the appropriate source separation and waste management of these plastics. Present study investigated this confusion based on manual sorting analyses of waste sampled from packaging waste (P), biowaste (B) and residual waste (R) in an urban area of Austria. The results were evaluated relative to near-infrared sensor-based sorting trials conducted in a German urban area. Although existing literature has focused on waste composition analyses (mostly in stand-alone studies) of the three waste streams, the present study focused on identifying the specific types of biodegradable plastic items found in each of these streams. Supermarket carrier bags (P = 90, B = 14, R = 33) and dustbin bags (P = 2, B = 46, R = 6) were found in all three waste streams in the Austrian urban area. Similarly, in the German urban area dustbin bags (P = 1, B = 106, R = 3) were the common items. The results indicate that certain bioplastic items were present in more than one bin; thus, hinting that consumers are not necessarily aware of how-to source-separate the biodegradable plastics. This suggests that neither consumers nor current waste management systems are fully 'adapted' to bioplastics, and the management of these plastics' waste is currently not optimal.

Assessing the impact of banning the single-use plastic carrier bags: a case study for Kenyan marine environment looking at macro, meso, and microplastics.

Poor waste management and unsustainable institutional and individual behaviors, have led to the accumulation of plastic litter in many habitats worldwide. Assessment of plastic pollution in Kenyan marine environment was conducted focusing on the impact of banning the single-use plastic carrier bags in Kenya. The quantification, composition, and distribution of plastics were determined at nine (9) beaches along Kenyan coastline using standing stock method. A total of 750 plastic items were collected and categorized with only 47 pieces being single-use plastic carrier bags. A great number of plastics (n = 383), were identified by their original use, with packaging plastics being the most common (n = 155). Macroplastics were the overall dominant plastics at 76%, mesoplastics, 21% and microplastics, 3%, which were altogether dominated by low-density polyethylene (LDPE) at (46%), followed by polypropylene (PP), 30%; polyethylene tetraphthalate (PET), 9%; polyvinyl chloride (PVC), 8%; and polystyrene (PS), 7%. The absence of identifiable single-use plastic carrier bags in 6 out of 9 beaches signified the effectiveness of the ban in Kenya. Monitoring of trends and sources of plastic debris is encouraged to help enhance the science-policy linkage aimed at reducing marine plastic pollution.

The baggage of representation: man with a red carrier bag searching for a signal

The baggage of representation: man with a red carrier bag searching for a signal

Fanfiction as a carrier bag methodology of fiction

This paper provides a short introduction to fanfiction as an example of Le Guin’s Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction. Through the analysis of the fanfiction drabble, this paper gives an initial outline of a methodology for the carrier bag theory, showing how the process of writing is supported by the community that surrounds fanfiction. As such, the writing and publishing of fanfiction can be seen as exemplary of a democratic, bottom-up method for creating the other stories, or life stories, in Le Guin’s and Haraway’s sense.

Short-term fragmentation of single-use plastic carrier bags in natural environment

About 50% of single-use plastic carrier bags are discarded after one use. There has been a gradual increase in awareness of the accumulation of end-of-life plastics and their impact on the environment, which has led to interest in the development of degradable polymers. Cassava bioplastics (polylactic acid), oxo-biodegradable, and compostable plastics are often considered a potential solution to the accumulation of plastic waste, but it was unknown whether they can be biodegraded in the natural environment. Thus, this study aims to determine the fragmentation of single-use plastic bags under various natural conditions, which are declared to have biodegradable, oxo-biodegradable, or compostable properties. Four types of degradable plastic and conventional single-use plastic carrier bags were stored in natural conditions (open-air, river water, and soil). After one month, we conducted an analysis of plastic bags, specifically examining factors such as their visual attributes, load-bearing capacity, polymer identification, and microplastic generation. Surprisingly, the compostable plastic, which was expected to demonstrate enhanced degradation when buried in soil, remained stable, as indicated by its polymer composition. This finding suggests that there is a need to improve the criteria for biodegradable plastic carrier bags to ensure that they undergo biological degradation.

Achieving sustainable source reduction of marine litter for ocean conservation in West Africa: Insights from single-use plastic consumers in Liberia

Source reduction of marine litter is the most preferred approach to addressing the global problem of the entry of plastics into the environment, including the ocean. Policies to achieve this reduction within the African region have so far had limited success. Studying the behavioural dimension of the use of single-use plastics (SuPs) may provide the knowledge basis for developing sustainable plastic policies for desired impact. This study sought to determine the influence of socio-demographic factors and awareness of environmental impacts of plastics on the use of SuPs in West Africa using Liberia as a case study. The SuPs studied include carrier bags, drinking water sachets and bottles, drink/beverage bottles and expanded polystyrene packs. The results show that different prevailing socio-demographic factors influence the different uses of SuPs. Level of education and income levels of the respondents, for instance, had significantly positive influence on the patronage of bottled water, bottled drinks and expanded polystyrene packs. While on the other hand, rising income level had a significant negative influence on the use of sachet water alone. It also showed that awareness of environmental impacts of SuPs had no significant influence on the use of plastic carrier bags and sachet water but rather increased significantly the use of all other SuPs. The observed patterns of use of the SuPs imply underlying factors that need to be thoughtfully considered in developing SuP reduction policies and SuP management infrastructure as matters of priority. The study recommends that similar studies should be conducted in other parts of Liberia as well as across Africa to provide a basis for the development of effective behaviour intervention programmes. This study also provides a scientific context to apply recommendations of this study to other West African countries with similar issues and challenges with marine litter menace.

Microplastics in sediment of Indonesia waters : A systematic review of occurrence, monitoring and potential environmental risks

Microplastics, or plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, are a growing ecotoxicological problem for both human health and aquatic habitats. Even though microplastic pollution affects the air, water, and land widely, these habitats are often viewed as distinct from one another while in fact they are tightly related. The purpose of this work is to review the body of scientific literature on microplastic studies in Indonesian watershed sediment. Google Scholar has identified around 57 papers about microplastic pollution that were published between 2017 and 2023. Papers about sediment for rivers, lakes, marine, and estuaries are categorized further based on (i) their occurrence and characterization, (ii) their intake by and effects on species, and (iii) their fate and transport issues. Even at low concentrations of 10 μg/mL, microplastics cause harmful effects for people and animals, including cytotoxicity, immunological response, oxidative stress, barrier characteristics, and genotoxicity. When marine animals eat microplastics, their gastrointestinal tract physiology changes, and they also experience immune system depression, oxidative stress, cytotoxicity, differential gene expression, and growth inhibition. In addition, the bioaccumulation of microplastics in aquatic creatures' tissues may harm the aquatic ecosystem and may spread to people and birds. Through behavioural changes and policy changes, such imposing taxes, bans, or price increases on plastic carrier bags, plastic usage has been dramatically decreased to 8–85% in many different nations across the globe. The strategy for minimizing microplastics is structured like an upside-down pyramid: prevention is at the top, then reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery, and, as the least desirable alternative, disposal.Keywords:MicroplasticsSedimentIndonesia WatersEnvironmental RiskPollutant Aquatic

Assessing the impact of chronic and acute plastic pollution from construction activities and other anthropogenic sources: A case study from the coast of Antofagasta, Chile

Plastic pollution is a critical environmental issue with far-reaching and not yet fully explored consequences. This study uncovered a significant source of plastic contamination arising from improper application and management of expanded polystyrene (EPS) utilised as expansion joints at a construction site near the coast of Antofagasta, Chile. Through meticulous field observations and calculations, we estimate that a staggering 82.9 million EPS spheres have the potential to be released into the environment from the 7.62 m3 of this material used for the construction of this coastal promenade, constituting a chronic source of pollution. Despite the ongoing construction, we have already evidenced mechanical fragmentation and dispersion of EPS microplastic pollution in the surrounding natural environment. To our knowledge, this is the first study that documents misused construction materials contributing to plastic pollution. In addition to the EPS pollution, our findings reveal an alarming accumulation of litter – an acute pollution source – including plastic cups, bottles, carrier bags, and several other construction materials (e.g. plastic nets, films) that are exacerbating the pollution problems within the region and potentially endangering marine and terrestrial organisms. These observations highlight the urgent need for mitigating measures and intervention policies targeting construction-related plastic and microplastic pollution, along with a more robust regulatory framework for construction activities as well as adequate surveillance and enforcement.

Socioeconomic Impacts of Sustainability Practices in the Production and Use of Carrier Bags

Although the negative environmental impact of plastic carrier bags has long been known, their use in Europe continues undiminished. Lithuania stands out for its high use and production of plastic bags. Governments and sustainability-driven businesses are taking various measures to reduce the environmental impact. Such measures include strategies to replace conventional plastic bags with paper or bioplastic bags, to reduce plastic bags by encouraging consumers to reuse them, and similar strategies. In contrast to the environmental impact of plastic bags, the socioeconomic effects of strategies to reduce their use have been much less studied in the scientific literature. Therefore, this paper analyses the impact of sustainability practices in the producing and using of carrier bags on Lithuania’s gross domestic product (GDP), employment and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study uses the CleanProdLT computable general equilibrium model based on the latest available data for 2020. The model allows for analysis of economy-wide effects by considering cleaner production and more sustainable consumption scenarios at different levels of detail. The results of the analysis show that while the analysed substitution of plastic bags with bioplastic (BioPlastic scenario) or paper bags (PaperBags scenario) has positive socioeconomic impacts, the overall best results can be achieved by reducing their consumption (ConsReduction scenario). In detail, it is estimated that the GDP could increase by EUR 18 million under the PaperBags scenario, by EUR 47 million under the BioPlastic scenario, and by EUR 64 million under the ConsReduction scenario. At the same time, employment increases by 213 jobs, 891 jobs, and 449 jobs, respectively. While the PaperBags and the BioPlastic scenarios reveal increases in GHG emissions of 4.5 ktCO2eq. and 29 ktCO2eq., respectively, the ConsReduction scenario demonstrates a decrease in GHG emissions of 4 ktCO2eq.. These findings suggest that the recent policy decision to charge for plastic bags in supermarkets will have positive environmental and socioeconomic impacts in the future.

Pilot-Scale Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Food Waste and Polylactic Acid

Bioplastics are frequently utilized in daily life, particularly for food packaging and carrier bags. They can be delivered to biogas plants through a separate collection of the organic fraction of municipal waste (OFMSW). The increased demand for and use of bioplastics aimed at mitigating plastic pollution raises significant questions concerning their life cycle and compatibility with waste management units. Anaerobic digestion (AD) in OFMSW is a valuable resource for biogas production. In this work, the valorization of poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) composed of food waste within the Biowaste to Bioplastic (B2B) Project framework was studied in laboratory and pilot-scale anaerobic liquid conditions. Taking into account that the addition of PLLA to biowaste can increase biogas production, we performed laboratory-scale anaerobic tests on food waste enriched with different molecular-weight PLLAs produced from food waste or commercial PLLA at a mesophilic temperature of 37 °C. PLLA with the highest molecular weight was subjected to AD on the pilot scale to further validate our findings. The addition of PLLA increased biogas production and had no apparent negative impact on the operation of the reactors used in the laboratory or on the pilot scale. Biogas production was higher when using PLLA with the lowest molecular weight. In the pilot-scale experiments, co-digestion of FW with PLLA increased biogas production by 1.1 times. When PLLA was added to the feed, biomethane was 8% higher, while volatile solids (VS) and total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) removal were almost the same. Importantly, no effect was observed in the operation of the digesters.

A Geometric As A Carrier Bag Of Fiction

In this essay, we fable an geometry as a carrier bag of fiction. It is not a search for explanations and possibilities of institutionalized geometries for mathematics teacher education or for the mathematics school classroom. It is about tasting things, life stories, concepts, ideas, geometric inventions, when it is placed inside a carrier bag, in an inventive movement, in an attempt to operate helplessness. Then, we go through some investigation works that invent geometries, use works of art and make use of headlines as modes of possibilities and transfigurations of our gaze and our body. We also flirt with the geography of maps, with which we destabilize geometric colonialities. In a Circuit of Affections, data were collected through helplessness in the face of geometric educations and placed in our fiction bag. Among visualities, decrystallizations and map productions, we invented (always in a draft) a scholarship geometry that presents itself as a possibility to inhabit professional practices of math educators, from Kindergarten to Graduate courses. Thus, a geometry as a carrier bag of fiction happens in a possibility of other schools, having the helplessness as constitutive of a political project.

Study of Fish Markets and their Pattern of Raipur City

The state of Chhattisgarh is endowed with rich and varied inland fisheries resources, which include ponds, reservoirs and rivers. Chhattisgarh, the 26th State of India, was carved out of Chhattisgarh on November 1, 2000. Located in central India it covers an area of 135,133 sq km. Raipur is the capital of Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh is bordered by Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh in the north, Andhra Pradesh in the south, Orissa in the east and Chhattisgarh in the west. Fishermen of this area are mostly involved various technologies in fisheries over a period of time by trial and error, continuous observations, experiences and evaluation to use the traditional practices in this field. The fishermen from rural area may an important role in establishing smoked fish and demand of dried prawn in market and also holding strong traditional marketing system for wet and dried prawn and do sell it round the year. The specific objectives of this study were to the availability, consumption and landing pattern of fishes, to find the available setting place and using their fish dressing equipments, carrier bags reasons for adopting traditional practices by fish traders, fishermen &amp; fisherwomen in local fish market of Raipur town. The list of fish whole seller/traders, fish seller, fishermen &amp; fisherwomen were prepared as respondents with the help of equal interval method of random sampling. The finding reveal that there is a good market, demand and price for almost all the Indian major carps, verities of indigenous local &amp; catfishes. But, the supply is less as per demand and also poor due to environment of this local fish market. The major constraint of fish market under ownership of Municipal Corporation and also established at one place and no cement floor, storage facilities (Ice plant/ unit) nearly, high transportation charges, non-availability of skilled labor, and with non-availability of electric current regularly for freezing of fish were the important difficulties encountered by fish seller in market of Raipur town. The development of this local fish market are expected to significantly contribute in reducing post harvest losses, enhance revenue and also improve the hygienic environmental effect and sanitary conditions in fish markets.

Terrifying Memory: An Interview with Carey Perloff

Terrifying Memory: An Interview with Carey Perloff

Carrier bag storytelling with coastal Kenyan families: sharing food, illustrations, and knowledge for tangible environmental justice impacts

The small-scale fisheries food system, in which individuals achieve food security independently or in small groups through fishing livelihoods and/or subsistence activities, provides food sovereignty for millions globally. However, this arrangement has inequitable engagement due to strictly enforced gendered roles in many communities, including coastal Kenya. Recently, critics across environmental research disciplines have called for social justice in science through anticolonial, feminist methodologies and interdisciplinary praxis. This resistance may take form through the “carrier bag” ability of fiction: an allusion to Le Guin's visionary analysis of containers as the first cultural device and evidence of the power of a story or personal sovereignty to tell one's story. Drawing from creative, service-driven methodologies emerging from collaboration among international research team members and Indigenous research participants, this project uses the “carrier bag” framework to support local environmental justice and food sovereignty goals through a science storybook resource created and shared with fishing families in Kilifi County, Kenya. We investigate how stories shape interpersonal relations in the context of this collaboration and how health knowledge, environmental science, and representational imagery can be tools for justice by examining the connections between social identity, family values, and social-ecological change in this food system. Having a deeper understanding of the experiences, changing ecosystems, and research feedback of these families allows this work to support fisheries management and nutrition interventions in Kenya and communities elsewhere.

List-keepers and other carrier bag stories: Academic mothers' (in)visible labor during the COVID-19 pandemic

Beginning in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted familiar rhythms of work and life when academic women from the United States sheltered-in-place in their homes. The pandemic brought forth challenges which accentuated that caregiving with little or no support disproportionately affected mothers' abilities to navigate their new lives inside the home, where work and caregiving abruptly collided. This article takes on the (in)visible labor of academic mothers during this time–the labor mothers saw and viscerally experienced, yet that which was often unseen/unexperienced by others. Using Ursula K. Le Guin's Carrier Bag Theory as a conceptual framework, the authors engage with interviews of 54 academic mothers through a feminist-narrative lens. They craft stories of carrying (in)visible labor, isolation, simultaneity, and list-keeping as they navigate the mundaneness of everyday pandemic home/work/life. Through unrelenting responsibilities and expectations, they each find ways to carry it all, as they carry on.

Jute and kenaf carrier bags: an eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags in India.

Increasing demand for shopping and packaging carrier bags has given rise to various issues relating to its disposal as well as to the overall environmental footprint and sustainability of the packaging materials. This study assesses the carbon footprint and life cycle environmental impacts of the production, usage, and disposal of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and two natural fibre carrier bags (jute and kenaf). Life cycle assessment study was conducted of all inputs and outputs, aggregated in the form of resources used and environmental emissions, extending from the production of raw materials to the final disposal of the product. The carbon footprint and GHG emissions of jute and kenaf carrier bags were estimated using the CO2, N2O, and CH4 emissions coefficients of inputs. Research literature from life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results was used to determine the effects of LDPE polyethylene packaging material. It was observed that the global warming potential (GWP) for the production of 1 kg of LDPE (100 micron) carrier bag (39.4 kg CO2eq) is more than 490 times higher than jute and kenaf carrier bags. In general, LDPE materials have the greatest impact on the carbon footprint and resource depletion. The LDPE material also has the highest impacts on indicators of terrestrial ecotoxicity, photochemical oxidation, acidification, and eutrophication as compared to jute and kenaf fibres. Since jute and kenaf are natural fibres, they sequester a substantial quantity of carbon during their agricultural stages. As a result, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission emissions of jute and kenaf were found to be negative. Popularising the use of jute and kenaf products as alternatives to plastic in industrialised countries would benefit the reduction of plastic waste and its negative environmental effects. Additional production of jute and kenaf fibre, which are already available in major bast fibre producing countries like India and Bangladesh, could meet the demand for fibre-based carrier bags.