The Plastic Bag

The Plastic Bag 

After watching the video Battle of the Bags, I learned about an effect that involved plastic bags that I didn’t know about until now. In the video, they were discussing the plastic bag issue in Nairobi. They explained how people used plastic bags as toilets and threw them into the street. They did this because there was little plumbing and very few toilets in the community in Nairobi, so they used plastic bags as makeshift toilets. The effect of this is when they throw the plastic bags in the sewers, they clog up waterways and the plastic bags saturated in waste sit there. This can cause the perfect breeding ground for diseases, like malaria.

Along with the increased risk for disease, plastic bags are cutting off the water supply to people in the community and contaminating it, so they can’t drink from that water or use it for other essential needs. Another effect of plastic bags is that the land can’t be used anymore because of the mixture of soil and plastic. So, the people in Nairobi can’t use their water, can’t use their land for agriculture, and they are facing an increased risk of disease. This all came from plastic bags. It’s crazy to think that a plastic bag can create detrimental effects within a community.

On a positive note, one thing that I found compelling was a lady turned plastic bags into clothing! Specifically, her wedding dress. Instead of getting a wedding dress from a bridal shop and maybe spending thousands on it, she chose to use plastic bags at zero cost for her wedding dress. Art has no limits when it comes to these things and she not only is reusing a material, but she is creating a message to a wider audience. She is putting plastic bags in the spotlight as something that you can use and keep, like normal clothing. I would’ve never thought of using plastic bags in that kind of way, but it’s great and it tells a story. 

When reflecting on the question, “How do you think we should deal with plastic bag waste?” I immediately think about eradicating them. I think about the negative environmental effects it has, like killing marine and land animals, clogging up waterways, increasing greenhouse gases, etc. I feel like that’s enough for people to see that we need to stop making plastic bags, but someone in the video said, “It’s mainly to do with the culture here. It hasn’t become part of the culture where plastic bags should be banned, culture is a big part of it” (Battle of the Bags 40:58-41:04). I think he makes a good point. People follow what the mass population is doing because that’s how our society works. It’s safer to do what everyone else is doing instead of going off on your own path because that’s scary for a lot of people, so they don’t do that. It’s sad to think that people won’t stop using until there is a ban or when it’s no longer part of our culture. 

It’s nearly impossible to just eradicate all the plastic bags overnight because they take a long time to break down. I think instead of focusing on how to eradicate them, I think we should focus on how to reuse and recycle them. I know at my family home we keep all our plastic bags and use them for various purposes. They include using them for small trash can liners, dog poop bags, wrapping fragile items, and taking out smelly food that we don’t want stinking up our trash in the house. Outside of my house, I’ve seen people knit plastic bags into items like purses, plant holders, and even clothing. I understand that this won’t solve the entire issue of plastic bag use, but it’s a start, and it encourages people to look outside the box for ways to reuse and recycle plastic bags.

            

When reflecting on what scale we should deal with plastic bag usage, I think there is one scale that is the most effective. We should try to solve the problem on a local scale. I say this because I don’t think people will be obliged to do anything on a global scale. This past decade we have seen a massive impact on global warming and how it is affecting the whole planet, but we have been talking about this for a long time and it seems like we haven’t gotten anywhere. On a local scale, people are more obliged to do something because they live in that area. If a ban on plastic bags was at the grocery store that they go to every week, they would have no choice but to use paper or canvas bags for their groceries. CBS 58 posted an article on June 30th this year about Milwaukee doing “Plastic-free MKE.” This movement, started by the Milwaukee Riverkeeper, aimed to challenge people to reconsider how they view their consumption of plastic and how it impacts the environment. The executive director of Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Jennifer Breceda, said, “We’re constantly cleaning up the river and what we find is that the amount of trash and nuisance pollution is just increasing” (Breceda CBS 58). Along with the article, there was a video attached going into more detail about this movement. It is great to see something so recent and on a local scale talking and advocating on plastic bag usage. This being on a local scale will get people’s attention and help them realize that this is a problem that is in their backyard, and not in some far-off country. I did some more research and found the website behind the movement “Plastic-free MKE.” Within this website, you can find individual and collective resources on how to reduce plastic use in Milwaukee, how to help, how to take a pledge to protect Milwaukee from plastic pollution, and how to get a hold of them. I found this website super straightforward and very helpful. This is a great site for people to go to if they want to contribute or what they can do to make Milwaukee more environmentally sustainable. 

           

     Finally, when reflecting on the statement, “plastic bags are misunderstood – and thus not a problem to be solved” I would have to disagree. I don’t think plastic bags are misunderstood at all. There are clear signs of the impact that it has. I think what the person meant when they said plastic bags are misunderstood, is that you can reuse and recycle plastic bags, you don’t have to throw them out after a single use. To me that’s not plastic bags being misunderstood, that’s people using them to a fuller capacity.

            In conclusion, there is a lot to be done to reduce and maybe even eradicate the plastic bag. For now, we can find ways to reuse and recycle the plastic bags that we already have, so they don’t end up in landfills, in the ocean, on freeways, or anywhere that you would find a floating plastic bag. We only have one planet and it’s our job to make sure it’s here for future generations to come. 

 

 

 Bibliography

 CBC. “Battle of the Bags.” YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6imsFx5T0&t=1050s. Accessed 19 Sept. 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6im-sFx5T0&t=1050s.  

“‘We Want to Stop It at the Source’: Milwaukee Organizations Promote Plastic Free July.” CBS58, www.cbs58.com/news/we-want-to-stop-it-at-the-source-milwaukee-organizations-promote-plastic-free-july. Accessed 19 Sept. 2024. 

“Individual.” PlasticFreeMKE, www.plasticfreemke.org/individualresources. Accessed 19 Sept. 2024.https://www.plasticfreemke.org/individualresources.

Stout, Maggie. “Infographic: How Plastic Bags Damage the Environment.” TommieMedia, 5 Mar. 2020, www.tommiemedia.com/infographic-how-plastic-bags-damage-the-environment/.https://www.tommiemedia.com/infographic-how-plastic-bags-damage-the-environment/

Mlblevins. “3 Harmful Effects of Plastic Bags Causing Environmental Pollution.” Help Save Nature, 17 Dec. 2021, helpsavenature.com/environmental-pollution-harmful-effects-of-plastic-bags#google_vignette.https://helpsavenature.com/environmental-pollution-harmful-effects-of-plastic-bags#google_vignette