by Summer Stewart

Created on: July 24, 2009   Last Updated: July 25, 2009

There is a garbage "patch" the size of Texas in the middle of the Pacific Ocean swimming with plastic bags! That is right, whatever does not end up in land fills, on the streets, seems to ravage the environment. Moreover, all of this is happening because recycling and conservation do not fit into an easy-to-open convenience packaging. So the question is, do plastic bags (even paper bags, too) need to be banned by law to help eliminate so of this trash? Alternatively, does society need to take control of their habits without needing to be told to do so?

Global warming is a crisis that must be handled in the most eco-friendly fashion. If consumers cannot change their lifestyles and learn to care for the environment, then banning plastic bags will be inevitable.
The use of plastic bags is harming the environment because of the irresponsibility of the consumer and in the manufacturing if the bags. The production of plastic bags consumes the world's scarce oil reserves in astronomical amounts.

The Natural Resources Defense reports that plastic bags eat twelve million barrels of oil annually. In addition to depleting the earth's oil supply, plastic bags litter the earth in various forms. Much of the littering comes from the lack of consumers recycling the 100 billion plastic bags used each year! Bags from garbage dumps blow through the air being trapped in trees, clogged in drains, and strangle wildlife (especially marine life). According to Jared Blumenfield, head of San Francisco's environment department, plastics bags are expensive to remove from trees, costing up to $150 dollars each time they have to send somebody out to remove the bags. Thus, the environment is not only paying for the expenses, but the country is paying greatly for the litter, also.

Before the government bans plastic bags, the consumer can get prepared for the ban and change their habits in various ways. Recycling plastic bags needs to become the number one priority for consumers. Currently, consumers are using an upward of 100 billion plastic bags per year, and less than five percent of those bags are making it into the blue bin! Since recycling and conservation have become important issues in the United States, many companies are trying to make recycling a daily part of life for the consumer. For example, last year California enacted AB 2449, which requires large stores to "provide at-store recycling programs" for plastic bags. I have made it a habit to bring back the plastic bags

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