On World Environment Day 5-6: 'Assassin' nylon bag

For today's world, nylon bags have been and will be a serious environmental problem caused by humans.

Nylon bags are usually made of polietilen. Lightweight, translucent and low production cost, cheap to almost zero; So, nylon bags are everywhere. But people are increasingly reacting strongly to the existence of plastic bag waste.

Decisively declared war

In India and Bangladesh , nylon bags are banned in some cities after the storm drain, which leads to a deadly flood. Nylon bags are also a deadly threat to sea turtles and fish species because these species mistook them for jellyfish.

In the past decade, many countries have enacted bans and tax laws aimed at reducing or eliminating the habit of consuming nylon bags but certainly the plastic industry continues to challenge these measures. Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Environment Program, said: " There is no reason to produce a nylon bag anywhere, anywhere ." Therefore, in 2010, although the tax regulations for nylon bags near failure in California state, Long Beach, San Francisco and Carmel cities prohibited the disposal of nylon bags to the beach.

Use prohibition and tax collection for nylon bags is a hot topic across the United States with many controversial comments surrounding whether to enact the above rules or not. Although these measures are most popular at the local level, some states have tried to ban nylon bags, most notably Washington and Oregon.

Using plastic bags becomes too popular. Photo: gettyimages.com

In the Washington capital, the tax regulation for nylon bags came into effect in 2010, at 5 cents (1% dollars) for people who buy plastic and paper bags. According to government estimates, before the tax regulation, 600,000 residents of the city used 22.5 million plastic bags / month. Since the government collected taxes, that figure dropped to 4.6 million bags per month. The drop of 80% of the nylon bags mentioned above also brought about $ 2.75 million TP budget. That money is used to clean up rivers.

Ireland also has a similar approach . Here, the government began collecting consumers 0.15 euros (about 20 cents) per bag from March 2002 and used the proceeds to support a special environmental fund. The above measure is immediately effective. Irish authorities estimate that taxing shopping bags has contributed to reducing demand by about 1 billion bags per year.

In January 2011, Italy banned all plastic shopping bags for single use. The country has the largest number of nylon bag users in Europe. So only a few months later, plastic bags almost disappeared from shops and streets in Italy. Instead, shoppers carry their own bags or use recycled corn bags.

A minute of pleasure

However, the plastic industry believes that the ban and taxes are counterproductive. They argued that instead of prohibiting and taxing, expanded recycling programs, such as placing garbage bins outside supermarkets to receive plastic bags and other plastic packaging, are a better way to deal. plastic waste problem. According to this argument, the ban on the use of plastic bags will prevent supermarkets from installing plastic collection points, slowing down recycling not only for plastic bags but also for other plastics.

Some researchers point out that plastic bags can actually cause a lower carbon footprint than paper. Even reusable bags are scrutinized. In early 2011, The Independent in London cited an unpublished official study of environmental agencies in the UK, which stated that bags made of cotton could cause a higher carbon impact than human level. I still think. At the same time, the benefits of reusable bags depend on how often consumers use them before abandoning them.

The world became narrow because of nylon trash. Photo: lastdaysrevelations.com

Keith Christman, director of plastic markets for the American Chemical Council, said that although nylon bags are everywhere, they only account for a small portion of waste. In the US, they make up only 0.5% of the things people throw away every day.

Nine-year-old plastic card campaign

It is the young Milo Cress, who lives in Burlington, Vermont. Milo cares about environmental issues at a very young age and likes to think about creativity. At the age of six, I designed a solar powered corn roaster. This fourth-grade student is persuading restaurant owners not to put straws on drinks for guests, but to ask guests if they need a straw.

In early 2011, with the help of her mother, Milo launched a website and started a "ask before sale" campaign after reading that in the United States there are about 500 million straws used once a day. ' When I read that, I think I can make a difference and other children can make a difference. Anyone who buys a drink can say no to the pipe, 'Milo said.

Milo's website is called BeStrawFree.or g, calling for restaurants to agree and commit to giving customers the option of taking straws themselves.

Not only restaurants in Vermont, home to Milo, restaurants in other states like Colorado, Illinois and Maine also responded to the call. With more and more promotion, international friends are also interested in the campaign. Many individuals in some countries have signed up to join the movement.

Politicians are trying to celebrate the campaign saying no to the straw. Burlington City's Bob Kiss, acknowledged the pioneering practicality of the campaign within the city. Vermont state lawmakers also sympathized with the movement initiated by Milo. Legislators praised Milo's action program and invited him to visit the US Congress when they knew Milo and her mother were in Washington.

It was interesting to receive support for the campaign, the family said. However, Milo and his mother stressed that the important issue here is voluntary and they do not support the ban on smoking pipes in restaurants.

In addition to creative thinking, Milo is a boy who knows practical actions. I emphasized that by applying the 'ask before sales' policy, the restaurant not only contributes to environmental protection but also saves a sum of money.

The California state government spends $ 25 million a year to tackle pollution caused by nylon bag garbage.

Nearly 4 billion plastic bags are still produced and used in Australia every year. It is known that 80% of garbage is found in Australian waters coming from the mainland. It is the negligent attitude about the environment that allows this situation to last. Besides, sanctions of solutions for plastic bags (no use) are also simple.

( Report of Marine Garbage: The Global Environmental Sanitation Challenge of Australia )