plastic bags
DESCRIPTION
Energy Project 2008MAT ED 630TRANSCRIPT
Plastic BagsEnvironmental Foes and Oil Consumers
Why Plastic Bags?
Why Plastic Bags?
Five long winter months watching an entangled plastic bag
Why Plastic Bags?
Five long winter months watching an entangled plastic bag
Final destination: Bob Marshall Wilderness or Swan River
Why Plastic Bags?
Five long winter months watching an entangled plastic bag
Final destination: Bob Marshall Wilderness or Swan River
Before leaving MT: canvas bags, backpacks, & supersized leather purse
Plastic Bags are an environmental
nuisance
Plastic Bags are an environmental
nuisancePlastic bags often blow away from landfills
Plastic Bags are an environmental
nuisancePlastic bags often blow away from landfills
Difficult to recycle = $4,000 to process and recycle 1 ton of plastic bags = sold for $32
Plastic Bags are an environmental
nuisancePlastic bags often blow away from landfills
Difficult to recycle = $4,000 to process and recycle 1 ton of plastic bags = sold for $32
“Recycled” or shipped to India?
Plastic Bags are an environmental
nuisancePlastic bags often blow away from landfills
Difficult to recycle = $4,000 to process and recycle 1 ton of plastic bags = sold for $32
“Recycled” or shipped to India?
Materials constructed from recycled plastic bags are typically headed for the landfill within a year
Plastic bags pose a particular threat to
Birds
Sea Turtles
Marine mammals
Plastic bags in the ocean
Plastic bags in the ocean
Northern Pacific Gyre - six times as much plastic as biomass
Plastic bags in the ocean
Northern Pacific Gyre - six times as much plastic as biomass
46,000 pieces of plastic litter per mile of ocean
My guiding questions
My guiding questions
Every plastic bag is a threat
Guilt versus pocketbook/Missoula think tank
How much oil do I personally consume with my use (misuse) of plastic bags?
Fred Meyer offers $0.05 per reusable bag at checkout.
How much money can I save in a year?
Methodology
Methodology
Tracked number of plastic bags consumed during the course of two weeks
1 plastic bag = 0.0043 g of oil
1 doggie bag = 0.00215 g of oil
Calculated gallons per year
analysis
Fig. 1 Ann's oil consumption through plastic bag use.
0
50
100
150
200
250
1 year 5 years 10 years 50 years
Time (Years)
Gallo
ns
of
Oil
Ann
analysis
Average gallons per year = 4 g
10 years = 1 barrel
416 plastic bags and 988 doggie bags per year
Save $20.00 on groceriesFig. 1 Ann's oil consumption through plastic bag use.
0
50
100
150
200
250
1 year 5 years 10 years 50 years
Time (Years)
Gallo
ns
of
Oil
Ann
analysis
Fig. 2 Juneau's consumption of oil using plastic bags
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
140000
160000
1 year 5 years 10 years 50 years
Time (years)
barr
els
of
oil
Juneau
analysis
42 g to a barrel
Juneau may consume almost 3000 barrels of oil per year through plastic bag use
29 million barrels per year in the U.S. or 12 million barrels?
Fig. 2 Juneau's consumption of oil using plastic bags
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
140000
160000
1 year 5 years 10 years 50 years
Time (years)
barr
els
of
oil
Juneau
Conclusions
Conclusions
Reusable bags and biodegradable doggie bags
$0.99 or $0.89 at Fred Meyer
http://globalgoodspartners.org/cart/results.cfm?cat=s8
Plastic over paper and RECYCLE (despite pitfalls)
Questions for Further Study
Questions for Further Study
American Chemistry Council and Save the Plastic Bag
Questions for Further Study
American Chemistry Council and Save the Plastic Bag
Do biodegradable bags really biodegrade?
Questions for Further Study
American Chemistry Council and Save the Plastic Bag
Do biodegradable bags really biodegrade?
Garbage bags, bread bags, plastic packaging
Questions for Further Study
American Chemistry Council and Save the Plastic Bag
Do biodegradable bags really biodegrade?
Garbage bags, bread bags, plastic packaging
Ireland, Bangladesh, South Africa, Thailand, Taiwan, China, and some U.S. cities ban plastic bags
Resources
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/us.html
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/11/28/green-magic-swiss-company-can-turn-used-plastic-bags-into-diese/
http://fooddemocracy.wordpress.com/2008/07/16/plastic-bags-and-oil-consumption/
http://www.booknoise.net/garbageland/index.html
http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/1188.html
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/08/10/plastic_bags/print.html
http://green-mommy.com/2008/02/plastic-soup.html
Resources
http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_plastics/doc.asp?CID=1106&DID=7938
http://savetheplasticbag.com/ReadContent461.aspx
http://www.blueoceansociety.org/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-royte/why-the-bag-backlash_b_46200.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/0902_030902_plasticbags_2.html
http://www.reusablebags.com/facts.php?id=5