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Plastic bags should be banned because they cause substantial environmental damage and harm wildlife. Over 13 billion plastic bags are used in the UK each year, many of which end up as litter in streets and oceans. Plastic bags are deadly for many marine animals that ingest them, mistaken as food. They are a major threat to already endangered species like leatherback turtles. While plastic bags are convenient, their short-term use and long-term environmental impact make them an unethical choice that governments should ban through regulations and fines for stores.

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mandy
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288 views2 pages

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Plastic bags should be banned because they cause substantial environmental damage and harm wildlife. Over 13 billion plastic bags are used in the UK each year, many of which end up as litter in streets and oceans. Plastic bags are deadly for many marine animals that ingest them, mistaken as food. They are a major threat to already endangered species like leatherback turtles. While plastic bags are convenient, their short-term use and long-term environmental impact make them an unethical choice that governments should ban through regulations and fines for stores.

Uploaded by

mandy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1.environmental damage

Plastic bags for use by consumers in supermarkets and other stores should be made illegal. In
the UK alone, over 13 billion plastic bags are handed to consumers each year, representing a
substantial proportion of all floating marine litter. More than this, plastic bags are responsible for
the deaths of huge numbers of marine species, who mistake the bags for food. Consumers must
accept that it is hugely wasteful, massively unethical, and potentially deadly to continue using
plastic bags. Supermarkets must be told by the government that continued supply of plastic
bags will result in large fines, whilst those supermarkets who remove all their bags can be
rewarded.

2.They litter our streets

Not only do plastic bags fill up our landfill sites where they will remain forever more, but people
throw them into the streets. They accept plastic bags when they do not need to and once out of
the shops take their items and litter the streets with the unwanted plastic bags. Animals can
caught in them, motor accidents are caused, and many end up in trees. As a society, this shows
that we do not need plastic bags if we are willing to just throw them away. Plastic bags should
be banned and replaced with bags that we would not so readily disregard.

3.Plastic bags suffocate and kill

Plastic bags can and have killed/(have been used to kill) many an animal (including human
beings) and they only have one singular use(carry things) for which, they can easily be
substituted (with other bags) for.

4.Wildlife Concerns

Plastic bags often end up floating in the seas- the home to many mammals, fish and
invertebrates. One species that is at great risk from plastic bags is the already endangered
Leatherback turtle (amongst others including the Green turtle, see the article below).
Turtles often mistake floating plastic bags for jellyfish- their only food source. The tragedy is that
once they eat the plastic bags, they can get caught up and wrapped round the gut or in the
throat, causing suffocation and starvation.

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1.environmental damage

Of all the sins of supermarkets, it is hilarious that plastic bags are the main cause of people's
concern. From sweat shops, to over production; things which have much more disasterous
consequences on the environment and people than misely plastic bags. The reality is, the
environment argument is a smokescreen for people to moan about litter. A more diligent
approach to parenting and teaching would solve this problem more effectively.

2.They litter our streets

This is an argument against a society's attitude towards consumption. But the war against
plastic bags is not worth the relatively little gain, the problem will remain long after a ban on
plastic bags is placed on people. Instead we need to recognise our dispoable society and start
looking at the bigger picture. Instead of picking on the small features of the problem, we need to
get to the roots. And here, the roots is not the plastic bag, but our attitude towards consumption.

3.Plastic bags suffocate and kill

Well if Animals have to die, just force them to mate as much as you can until they are over
populated, then if some are killed it will be ok, and the same thing for children. If each couple
has atleast 10 children, then out population will be atleast five times of what it is.
Essentially people do not seem to be bothered about ruining animals lives, or often even those
of other human beings through other forms of pollution so why be bothered about plastic bags in
particular? Yes plastic bags can cause damage but why are people throwing plastic bags in
forested areas and other wildlife habitats. The civic agencies should be making sure that plastic
bags do not get to such places, those they gater from streets should be recycled or reused
which is possible meaning we really need an improvement in infrastructure to solve the problem.

4.Wildlife Concerns

even if we are to ban plastic bags the litter that gets into the ocean won't stop the animals will
just get trapped in the other items that we replace plastic bags with such as cloth it could rap
around them and smuther them almost 30% faster than any plastic bag couldand any heavier
items could sink to the bottom and kill ofthem plant life the animals thrive on plus most turtles
will realize the difference between the plastic bags and jellyfish as soon as they startchewing on
it and most of the time when they are close to it.

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