C-+plastic+bag+decomposition

By: Daniel Park, SCH4U1-03 Presentation Date: Wednesday, October 20, 2010

__**﻿Q : How long does it take for plastic bags to decompose in a landfill site?**__
 * it takes 20 to 1,000 years to decompose plastic bags

__**General Information**__
 * a plastic bag is a type of flexible packaging made of thin, flexible, plastics film.
 * weighing just a few grams and averaging a few millimeters in thickness.
 * plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, chemicals and waste.
 * plastic bags are often made from polyethylene, which consists of long chains of ethylene monomers.
 * It takes 1.75 kg of petroleum to make a kg of polyethylene.
 * only 0.6 percent of plastic bags are recycled.

__**Problem**__
 * trillions of plastic bags can last for 1,000s of years.
 * break down into tiny toxic particles that contaminate the soil and waterways.
 * enter the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them.
 * plastic bags kill at least 100,000 birds, whales, seals and turtles every year.

__**Biodegradable plastic bags**__
 * can be made from food typically, vegetable oils and corn starch.
 * only require a warm, microbe-rich environment to biodegrade in a short period of time.
 * takes more energy to produce a biodegradable plastic bag than a petro-plastic one.
 * cause more carbon dioxide emissions in their manufacture.

__**Conclusion**__    __** Negative Effects of Plastic Bags **__  media type="youtube" key="85VFxKWcstM?fs=1" height="385" width="480" 
 * Compared with paper bags, producing plastic ones uses less energy and water and generates less air pollution and solid waste. Plastic bags also take up less space in a landfill. But many of these bags never make it to landfills; instead, they go airborne after they are discarded and getting caught in fences, trees, even the throats of birds, and clogging gutters, sewers, and waterways. To avoid these impacts, the best alternative is to carry and re-use your own durable cloth bags.

 **__BIBLIOGRAPHY __**
 * 1) Fier, J. (n.d.). How Long Does It Take To Decompose? | Be Healthy and Relax. Be Healthy and Relax. Retrieved October 24, 2010, from http://behealthyandrelax.com/2007/11/how-long-does-it-take-to-decompose/
 * 2) Say No To Plastic Bags: The Shocking Facts About Polyethylene Bags . (n.d.).Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. Retrieved October 24, 2010, from http://www.suite101.com/content/say-no-to-plastic-bags-a20241
 * 3) Mieszkowski, K. (n.d.). Plastic bags are killing us - Environment - Salon.com.Salon.com - Salon.com. Retrieved October 24, 2010, from http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/08/10/plastic_bags
 * 4) we, 5. d. (n.d.). Plastic bags.Packaging News. Retrieved October 24, 2010, from http://www.packagingknowledge.com/plastic_bags.asp

