Chapter 4.pdf

The Lifetime of the Plastic Bag
Plastic bags often end up as litter instead of being recycled. In
some countries, so many plastic bags litter streets that the plastic
shopping bag is known as “the national flower” or “the national
flag.” Plastic bags have clogged storm drains, causing floods. The
bags can also kill marine animals that eat them. For these reasons,
and to save resources, many communities around the world have
restricted the use of plastic bags.
A typical plastic shopping bag is made of polyethylene.
Polyethylene is relatively inert, which means that it does not
react easily with other chemicals. This makes polyethylene useful,
but since it does not easily break down in the environment, care
must be taken to reduce its use and to recycle or dispose of it
responsibly.
The Town of Leaf Rapids, Manitoba, once spent thousands of
dollars each year to clean plastic bags out of the forest. Bags
scattered by the wind would cling to trees and fences near the
town garbage dump. The town wanted a solution, and so Leaf
Rapids became the first community in Canada to ban disposable
plastic shopping bags.
Sea turtle eating a discarded plastic
bag
B1
STSE
Science, Technology, Society, and the Environment
Do We Need Plastic Shopping Bags
When we are finished using a plastic bag, we are
faced with its disposal. Recycling is one option,
but this uses energy and resources, possibly more
than making the plastic bag in the first place.
Plastic bags and other polyethylene products
often end up in landfill — or as litter — and may
not break down for decades.
1. Should disposable plastic shopping bags be
made illegal Make a table with the headings
“Advantages” and “Disadvantages.” Give
your table a title. Identify at least two
advantages and disadvantages of this idea.
Decide your position, and defend your
stance in a class discussion.
2. At 16 years old, Daniel Burd won the
Canada-Wide Science Fair for discovering
that a certain type of bacteria can degrade
over 40 percent of the weight of plastic bags
in less than 3 months. How could this
discovery be applied to improve the
environment
3. Plastic bags are not only used for shopping.
List three other common uses for plastic
bags. Can plastic shopping bags be safely
reused for these other purposes Explain.
Exploring
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