www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

   

/ Environment China

Revving up the fight against plastic bag usage
By KAREN STINGEMORE(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-06-19 08:39

What clogs waterways, harms bird and marine life, can be found in abundance in the city and the most remote parts of China and takes millions of years to disappear?

The answer is plastic bags. It is hard to imagine that something that seems so harmless could be doing so much damage to the environment both in China and globally.

Throughout the world 1 trillion bags are used a year, which accounts for over a million a minute. And considering it takes years for them to decompose, the global fight to limit the usage of plastic bags needs to be revved up a notch or two.

Plastic bags not only cause visual pollution, who hasn't been witness to plastic bags strewn across riverbanks, floating in waterways and clinging to trees, but they also clog drains which can lead to flooding in urban areas.

Wildlife in the marine environment, such as birds and seals, are dying from intestinal blockages resulting from ingesting the bags.

The scary thing is that for something that impacts so heavily on the environment, the majority of people don't give plastic bags a second thought. Often they are used only once and thrown out or discarded as litter.

This litter in China has been dubbed white pollution, as it is regularly seen blowing around the streets.

A push to draw the public's attention to the issue has wielded some positive results - a few years ago it would have been an anomaly to see shoppers carrying home their shopping in cloth bags, but it is happening in China's capital Beijing.

This is due to recent campaigns such as major supermarkets in Beijing providing their customers with reusable cloth bags, and different regions embracing No Plastic Bag Days.

Other supermarkets in Beijing are opting for degradable plastic bags.

By simply cutting down on the number of bags you use, reusing bags and encouraging your friends, family and colleagues to follow your example, you will be playing an important role in environmental protection in China.

An increasing number of people worldwide are refusing to use plastic bags and opting for alternatives.

People use backpacks and sports bags from home to carry their shopping, as well as environmentally friendly substitutes.

Two such bags are polypropylene bags manufactured from polypropylene gas, a by-product of oil refining, and calico bags made from cotton.

Polypropylene bags have a lifespan of up to three years and can be recycled, and calico bags last for one year. Both can hold more shopping than plastic bags.

The use of plastic bags as bin liners is a common practice in households but does not make good environmental sense as the bags still end up in land fills, taking years to decompose.

More people are choosing to use oxo-biodegradable bin liners. Oxo-biodegradable products have a special additive added in their manufacturing process that reduces the molecular weight of the plastic and gives microbes access to the carbon and hydrogen within.

The material changes from plastic to a food source, with many farmers using oxo-biodegradable plastics as compost.

One of the options being bandied around in Beijing at the moment to help alleviate the problems arising from plastic bags is a plastic bag tax. With the tax aimed at cutting demand for plastic bags and raising money to address pollution caused by them.

If the Ministry of Finance's feasibility study for the introduction of the tax proves viable, this coupled with further environmental campaigns promoting awareness and education on plastic bags and the government encouraging both retailers and consumers to use environmentally friendly and degradable bags will greatly reduce the negative impacts of plastic bags.

All of the above strategies must be implemented in order for this vast problem to be adequately addressed.

A tax on plastic bags does impact on usage, contrary to some points of view that most people are unwilling to give up the convenience of plastic bags and won't mind paying for the privilege, Ireland reduced its plastic bag usage by 95 per cent after introducing a 15 per cent levy on plastic bags in 2002.

Raising awareness among retailers and consumers is central to reducing plastic bag litter and saving resources.

So the next time a supermarket attendant or shopkeeper goes to give you a plastic bag for a small item, remember that the bag will long outlive you, and ask yourself if you really want our legacy to future generations to be a big mess to clean up.

We are paying a big price environmentally for the sheer convenience of plastic bags, and when you look at the devastation they are causing to our environment, it's really not worth it.

(China Daily 06/19/2006 page8)

 
 

主站蜘蛛池模板: 欧美成人自拍视频 | 亚洲a网| 狠狠色丁香婷婷久久综合不卡 | 亚洲欧美日韩综合久久久久 | 欧美一级免费 | 国产欧美久久精品 | 亚洲三级网站 | 最新版天堂资源中文官网 | 成人午夜免费在线观看 | 国产精品亚洲欧美日韩久久 | 亚洲国产一区二区三区四区五区 | 精品国产成人综合久久小说 | 青青草国产免费一区二区 | 成人黄网18免费观看的网站 | 狠狠综合久久久综合 | 免费观看成人毛片 | 亚洲日本欧美综合在线一 | 久久人| 成人69 | 免费看v片网站 | 亚洲国产一区二区三区最新 | 欧美在线a级高清 | 天堂免费在线视频 | 欧洲成人免费视频 | 国产精品特黄一级国产大片 | 香蕉久久精品国产 | 久久极品视频 | 99爱在线视频 | 国产偷国产偷亚洲高清在线 | 美国一级片在线 | 青青青青爽视频在线播放 | 中文字幕亚洲国产 | 欧美性欲视频 | 亚洲另类激情综合偷自拍 | 亚洲精品自产拍在线观看 | 中文字幕国产专区 | 国产一区中文字幕在线观看 | 国产精品亚洲四区在线观看 | 亚洲男人的天堂久久精品 | 亚洲成综合| 国产一级视频在线 |