Plastic bags have the ability to be used in different cases as a means to transport small objects, preserve food, store materials, among many other functions; Over the years, the production of this product has increased and with it also one of the main causes of pollution in the environment. This article will explain what this material consists of and how it affects the planet's ecosystems.
Plastic bags
The main characteristics of plastic bags is their material because they are made with linear polyethylene, also with low-density polyethylene, it is not a type of product that remains compact but has the ability to deform and be easily malleable. Due to the fact that they do not have an evaporation point, attributing to their elastic composition, thanks to their properties they can take different forms. There are different kinds of plastic bags, which have a specific function or were created for a particular case.
They are also designed by polypropylene, this being a variation of its composition in the structures of organic components, the bags are divided depending on the case in which they are going to be used. In addition to having plastic bags for the transport of small goods, as well as if large items must be stored. Other types of materials can even be used to make the bag, this depends on the composition it has, among larger synthetic organic compounds it can have a more elastic characteristic and with greater resistance. Due to this they can be classified according to the weight they are capable of supporting, in this way people acquire the plastic bags they need.
Oil is one of the main sources of raw materials for the development of a wide variety of products necessary for man, being subjected to a pyrolytic process that causes the obtaining of various fractions that are processed until they have different essential resources for the development of daily life, highlighting in this case the plastic bags. The composition of this product comes from petroleum derivatives, which is why it is considered very polluting, its production process consists of the extrusion of the resin, which can be applied by different methods, this depends on the industry in charge of its design, who It is responsible for selecting the organic components that can have a high density or a low density.
Due to these properties and structure, plastic bags take time to decompose, that is, it must take many years for this material to divide into its components, returning to small particles. It can take up to five centuries for the entire degradation process to be completed, which is why it is considered one of the most polluting objects on the planet. It is considered one of the largest residues on the planet, highlighting the fact that its proper disposal is not complied with, the human being has acted irresponsibly with this product, since the bad habit of throwing away plastic bags in any place, without taking into account all the consequences that this action produces on Earth.
Due to this it is one of the main pollutants of the streets, also of the seas and natural landscapes; this affects the environmental balance. Highlighting in this case the floating islands of garbage that are found in the seas and is mainly composed of plastic bags that society has wasted and discarded on the coasts, generating great concern for the high environmental impact it causes. In addition, its biodegradation is very slow, as explained above, so several institutions have sought solutions that can be applied to reduce the amount of plastic in the world's waste.
Environmental impact
Plastic is a substance with a structure of organic compounds with the ability to be malleable, that is, it can take a specific shape as required; in this way there is the advantage of applying this substance in a wide range of cases. There is a large number of objects that are made with synthetic organic compounds so that they have the ability to change their shape or deform without breaking the linked chains of organic compounds.
Currently there is a large number of objects made by this type of substance, highlighting among them the plastic bags, it is a type of product used to store and move merchandise, transport objects, store food, preserve substances, dispose of waste, among other functions.
The impact of plastic bags on the environment is due to the fact that people irresponsibly throw them away when using them, polluting ecosystems and affecting the habitats of different species. This culture of throwing garbage on the ground or in the water also contaminates the biomes, modifying their natural properties. The popularity of plastic bags began since their launch in the 70s, they are generally used in stores, supermarkets and businesses, where they are delivered free of charge, so their acquisition is very simple. Due to this, society managed to fill itself with plastic bags using them in various cases, the problem begins in how this object can be disposed of.
One of its main functions is to dispose of household garbage, for this reason it is normal to have these plastic bags in homes. The demand for this object was uncontrolled, everyone had one, but the drawback was that the bags reached the streets, the oceans, also in the rivers, the seas, even in landfills. Natural landscapes, ecosystems and biomes were negatively affected by plastic bags, it pollutes the seas, it invades animal habitats, because of it animals can drown, even if they consume it, they poison them, eliminating species of a specific ecosystem.
In the same way it impacts aquatic biodiversity, affecting all the species found in the seas and oceans, today it is very common to find turtles, fish and other mammals entangled in plastics and even present malformations due to the presence of this substance in its natural habitat; its degradation is very slow so it can affect different ecosystems in its movement through different regions; It can take many years to decompose and this with each of the objects that are made with plastic.
Reasons not to be used
The main reason for not using plastic bags is because they are a highly polluting object, but other reasons to reduce their use can also be highlighted, although they are all related to their impact on the environment. At present, more than a million plastic bags have been used but they are not recycled almost in their entirety, this large amount of use of this material impacts the environment, there is a large amount of this product in mountains of garbage and once being discarded does not have any kind of utility.
It has been determined that China is one of the countries that uses this resource the most, using approximately three billion plastic bags every day; while the US employs 100000 billion annually. These demands for plastic bags are very high, and it is only considering two countries, but in this way it contributes to the deterioration of the environment.
The recycling process of plastic bags is quite expensive, this is due to its complex structure of organic compounds, which requires an advanced procedure with high quality technology, for this reason the bags are not recycled, since that it would be a very large expense for the countries, which is why they seek to adopt a culture of reducing their use, or reusing them if they have the possibility.
For the creation of this object, barrels of oil are required, using its derivatives for its elaboration, the problem is that these compounds take a long time to degrade (approximately thousands of years) affecting planet Earth. Also on the bags they usually have a print, but the ink used is toxic, giving another reason not to use this object or at least reduce its use. Observing that all the elements used for its preparation are harmful to health and the environment.
It pollutes aquatic ecosystems, causes the death of many species found in the oceans, mainly turtles, since they confuse them with jellyfish and consume them, causing them to be poisoned and also drown. Another reason to reduce the use of bags is that they pollute the air and clog pipes, which can lead to flooding.
Recycling Process
The procedure for recycling plastic bags consists of obtaining plastic waste that can reuse these components for the manufacture of new objects with better use, thus taking advantage of these resources that do not degrade easily. This new product is called a recycled bag, where it is disclosed that it has gone through a physical-chemical process to acquire its properties and transform them for a specific function.
To carry out this process it is important to remember that some phases must be fulfilled, the first consists of "Separation" where the components and the resources used are divided, the second phase is "Material quality control" which consists of persevering each one of the residues obtained in the separation so that they can be used again in the elaboration of a new product. The third phase is the "Casting of the plastic" where the melting point of this material must be reached to enter the fourth phase called "Push by means of an extruder" where equipment is used to move the melting residue through of an extruder. When the complete displacement is carried out, the fifth phase “Small plastic pieces” begins, where balls of this material will be acquired to be used as a resource in a new product.
With these small pieces of plastic, the sixth phase begins, which consists of "Production of a new product", where the main idea is to use all the recovered components in the procedure that is used in the elaboration of a new object or that participates in the process. specific design of a product, in this way the properties of this material can be used on more than one occasion.
Possible solutions
Plastic bags have negatively impacted the environment, their irresponsible use is what generated various problems in the planet's ecosystems, due to this various studies are being carried out on how this situation can be solved, since this resource is of daily use for the people. One of the main ideas is to reduce its application, also that it can be recycled to take advantage of its properties; This requires a change of culture in society where plastic bags are not irresponsibly discarded.
One of the main solutions that can be applied in this type of situation is to dispose of plastic bags in recycling centers, which are responsible for carrying out the physical-chemical process to reuse this resource.
They can also be reused in a domestic way, either for pet feces, as a garbage container in homes, to store different merchandise and items. It is recommended to gather other smaller ones in a large bag, so that they can be stored for future cases in which it can be applied. Another solution that can be used is to use bags that are made with biodegradable materials, so as to reduce pollution in the seas, air and soil. In the same way, there is the opportunity to use biosoluble bags, which have specific properties to facilitate their degradation without affecting nature.
It is necessary that, as people, each of the norms established for the conservation of the environment be complied with, taking into account the continuous deterioration to which natural resources are exposed and the great environmental impact that it generates; this is a solution that must be applied at any time, among them is not to dispose of garbage outside the containers, or to throw the bags in the streets, since due to their properties and structure derived from oil they do not degrade easily.
Likewise, another solution is to reduce the fossil fuels that impact the environment, for this a recovery program must be carried out where the bags are reused depending on their capacity in different situations, so that their structure is used to the maximum and allows to maintain quality of life without disturbing daily activities. Even some institutions have taken the action of not using plastic bags but presenting a biodegradable material, so that they contribute to the environmental aid that has been established worldwide. In the same way, the well-known ecological bags are used, which are a type of product with ecological purposes, this can be done by recycling common bags.
These solutions help to contribute to the conservation of ecosystems and biomes that planet earth presents, the main idea is to reduce the use of polyethylene, since this resource over time has polluted the planet, modifying climatic states, In addition to being a product that biodegrades very slowly, its persistence in ecosystems is much more remarkable over time. Due to this, the importance of our actions can be highlighted, which affect every living being on the planet.
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