With the plan to ban all plastic bags in America by 2020 forging ahead, ReuseThisBag.com have uncovered some worrying statistics that show that America is lagging behind other nations when it comes to removing harmful plastic bags in circulation and encouraging citizens to adopt other re-usable alternatives that are kinder to the environment.
In America, only two states have conclusively banned single-use plastic bags: Hawaii and California. However, many more states are making a move in the right direction with ten states placing pre-emptive bans on plastic bags and a further four states having mandatory recycle or reuse programs in place.
However, when looking on a global scale, more than 32 other countries have either banned the use of plastic bags or have included a tax on their sale to help combat the amount of damage they cause to the natural environment.
One of the most notable statistics shows that of the 32 nations that have either taxed or banned plastic bags, almost half are in Africa where plastic bags clog up drains causing increases in mosquito swarms and therefore outbreaks of malaria.
The cost to the environment caused by plastic bags is undisputable, with discarded bags finding their way into sewage and storm drains where they entangle and cause the death of an estimated 100,000 marine animals each year and pollute our oceans.
The bags that do end up in landfill can last up to 1,000 years, during which time they fester and degenerate in toxic microplastics that are incredibly harmful to the environment.
Despite these devastating consequences, each plastic bag has a usage lifespan of approximately twelve minutes, and as consumers, we use around 150 bags per person, per year.
This is something that the 2025 ban hopes to address, but progress remains slow and there is still a long way to go until each state in America completely bans the use of plastic bags.
A spokesperson from ReuseThisBag.com said “As citizens and business owners of America, we all need to take responsibility for the chronic misuse of plastic bags and adopt a reusable approach to grocery shopping and other places where we’d normally accept a plastic bag.”
To find out more visit https://www.reusethisbag.com/articles/where-are-plastic-bags-banned-around-the-world/
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ReuseThisBag.com is the premier supplier of custom non-woven polypropylene Eco-friendly grocery bags. All bags are made from 100% recyclable materials and each bags can be custom imprinted with a company logo, making them a great marketing tool for any business with an environmental conscious.
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