Plastic shopping bag facts for kids

Plastic shopping bags, also known as carrier bags or plastic grocery bags, are a common type of plastic bag used for carrying items from stores. People all over the world have been using them since the 1960s. Even though they are sometimes called "single-use" bags, many people reuse them for other things, like holding trash or storing items. Modern plastic bags are also becoming more recyclable or compostable. In recent years, many countries have started making laws to limit or ban plastic bags to help reduce littering and plastic pollution. Some reusable shopping bags are also made from plastic materials.

History of Plastic Bags

The idea for plastic shopping bags goes back to the 1950s. However, the modern, lightweight plastic bag we know today was invented by a Swedish engineer named Sten Gustaf Thulin. In the early 1960s, Thulin created a way to make a simple, strong, one-piece bag from a flat tube of plastic. His company, Celloplast, patented this design around the world in 1965. Sten believed these strong plastic bags would be used many times and could replace paper bags, which require cutting down trees.

Celloplast had a special patent that gave them a near-monopoly on making plastic shopping bags. They built factories in Europe and the US. But other companies wanted to make these popular bags too. In 1977, a US company called Mobil successfully challenged Celloplast's patent in the United States.

After this, more companies in the US started making plastic bags. In 1982, a grocery store chain called Kroger began using plastic bags instead of paper ones, and other stores like Safeway soon followed. By the mid-1980s, plastic bags became very common for carrying groceries from stores to homes around the world.

In 1992, a company called Sonoco Products patented a new design for plastic bags that made them easier to use. This design allowed bags to be stacked so that when you pulled one off the rack, the next one would open up. This made them very convenient for grocery stores and customers.

How Many Plastic Bags Are Used?

It's hard to know exactly how many plastic bags are used globally. However, experts estimate that between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are used each year worldwide. In 2009, for example, the United States alone used about 102 billion plastic bags.

What Are Plastic Bags Made Of?

Most traditional plastic bags are made from a material called polyethylene. This material comes from natural gas and petroleum. The polyethylene used in shopping bags is usually either low-density or high-density. Sometimes, colors and other materials are added to give the bags a tint. Plastic shopping bags are typically made using a process called "blown film extrusion," where plastic is melted and blown into a thin film.

Bags That Break Down Naturally

Some newer bags are made from plant-based plastics, called bioplastics. These bags can break down naturally over time. This helps prevent them from building up in landfills and harming the environment. Bags can also be made from other materials that break down, like polylactic acid (PLA), which comes from lactic acid.

However, most bags that break down naturally don't easily decompose in sealed landfills. Also, they can cause problems for regular plastic recycling if they get mixed in. So, it's important to keep these special biodegradable bags separate from regular plastic recycling.

There are two main types of plastics that break down naturally:

• Bioplastics: These are made from renewable materials, like plants. Many of them can break down naturally.
• Plastics with additives: These are made from regular petroleum-based plastics but have special additives that help them break down faster, sometimes with the help of light.

Environmental Concerns

Groceries in multiple plastic bags.

Plastic bags are very strong and last a long time, which is why they are a big concern for the environment. They don't break down easily and can be very harmful to wildlife. Millions of plastic shopping bags are thrown away each year and end up as plastic waste or litter in nature. Because they are so light and durable, they can travel far and stay in the environment for a very long time. It can take hundreds of years for a plastic shopping bag to fully break down, sometimes between 500 to 1,000 years! Yet, a bag is often used for only about 12 minutes.

On land, plastic bags are a common type of litter in populated areas. Large amounts of plastic bags can block drainage systems, leading to flooding. This has happened in places like Bangladesh and Manila. Littering is a serious issue in many developing countries where trash collection systems are not as good.

In 2009, only about 13% of the one trillion single-use plastic bags made were recycled. The rest were thrown away, ending up in landfills or blown into the environment because they are so lightweight.

Even though plastic bags cause environmental problems, some studies have found them to be an environmentally friendly option for carrying things. For example, a Canadian government agency found that plastic bags use less material and energy to produce. They also noted that many people reuse them as trash bags, which saves them from buying new bin liners. Studies from Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Clemson University have found similar results.

A global survey in 2022 showed that 75% of people want single-use plastics to be banned. This number was up from 71% in 2019. Also, 82% of people now prefer products with less plastic packaging, compared to 75% before.

Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling Plastic Bags

Most regular home recycling programs do not accept plastic shopping bags. Even though they are made of plastic, they can cause problems for recycling machines by getting tangled in the equipment. However, plastic bags are 100% recyclable! You usually need to take them to special collection points, often found at grocery stores or large retail chains, that recycle plastic film.

Some big store chains, like Whole Foods in the U.S. and IKEA in the U.S. and the U.K., have stopped using plastic shopping bags.

Stronger plastic shopping bags can be reused as reusable shopping bags. Lighter bags are often reused as trash bags or for picking up pet waste. All types of plastic shopping bags can be recycled into new bags if there are good collection systems in place.

In the mid-2000s, about 7% of plastic bags in the United States were recycled each year. This meant over 800 million pounds of bags and plastic film were recycled in 2007 alone. Recycling one ton of plastic bags saves the energy equal to 11 barrels of oil.

According to the UK's Environment Agency, 76% of British plastic bags are reused. A survey in America found that 90% of Americans reuse plastic shopping bags.

Laws About Plastic Bags

As of August 2018, more than 160 countries, regions, and cities have made laws to ban or charge a fee for plastic bags. The goal is to reduce how many disposable plastic bags people use. Some countries, like China in 2008, have completely banned very thin plastic bags. Other countries add a small tax when you buy them.

See also

In Spanish: Bolsa ecológica para niños

Images for kids

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  Film extrusion

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  Plastic bag "made mainly from limestone" in Japan

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  Plastic bag pollution

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  Plastic bag in the sea