Research Project plastic bags

Research Objective:

“To evaluate the level of awareness of the harms of polythene bags among among the the peop people le and and dete determ rmin ine e the the feas feasib ibil ility ity of intr introd oduc ucin ing g of  paper/jute bags.”

Introduction:

This research focuses on a very common issue of our actual industrial framework that is global warming. Environmental pollution is the main problem of this century and it needs immediate detection and measures in orde orderr to be solv solved ed.. Envi Enviro ronm nmen enta tali list sts s are are worri orried ed abou aboutt the the govern governmen mental tal polici policies es about about the pollut pollution ion measur measures. es. Enviro Environmen nmental tal pollution pollution is and is going to be a major major dilemma of of the future if it is not fixed in time. Every individu individual al or organiation organiation is concerned concerned about about their  short!term gains" but only a few cares about the impact of their short! term gains on the long run and how it impacts the environnement.

#n this report" we put a sincere effort to bring forward the serious issue which is the use of plastic bags and how it harms and degrade the natural environment. $e strived to determine the level of consciousness of indivi individua duall about about enviro environmen nmental tal pollut pollution ion.. This This report report will will help help you understand the awareness level of people%s concern about the global warmi armin ng and and how the the poly polyth then ene e bags ags affe affect ct our our envir nviro onmen nment. t.  $hat if the use of the plastic bags is discontinued" what conse&uences we should be ready to face if it not.

This report highlights highlights the conse&uences conse&uences of using plastic bags in depth. depth. $hat role plastic bags play in our daily routine lives' ( long meticulous personal and telephonic survey has been conducted for this purpose.

Overview of the Plastic:

Every year" around )** billion +)**"***"***"***, plastic bags are used throughout the world- over one million plastic bags are being used every minute minute and theyre theyre impacti impacting ng on our enviro environmen nment. t.

#ndia #ndias s plasti plastics cs

consumption is one of the highest in the world" nevertheless little has been done in order to recycle" re!use and dispose of plastic waste. lastic bags are difficult and costly to recycle for the governements" thus most end up on landfill sites where they take up to 0** years to deg degrade rade..

They They

break reak!d !dow own n

into into

minu minusc scul ule e

toxi toxic c

part partic icle les s

that that

contaminate the soil and water but also the food chain when animals accidentally swallow them. The problems around the of waste plastic bags begins long before they photo degrade into particules.

lactics has been placed at the center of necessity by $orld $ar ##. ( rubber substitute called vinyl was used by (llied troops for waterproof  tents and boots. Then" it was only in the 12)*s that plastics began to come into wide use in international arena- within few years" production has boomed at a rate beyond compare. $orld consumption of plastics is now comparable with the consumption of all non!ferrous metals.

3ore 3oreca cast sts s conc concer erni ning ng the the prod produc ucti tion on of resi resins ns indi indica cate te that that the the econ econom omie ies s

of

man many

deve develo lop ped

and and

deve develo lop ping ing

coun countr trie ies s

are are

incr increa easi sing ngly ly rely relyin ing g on the the use use of plas plasti tics. cs. #n this this rega regard rd the the most most intractable problem relating to plastics and the environment has been so far their disposal. 4and filling on one hand is increasingly seen to pose problems of environmental impact" because the availability of suitable sites is decreasing day by day. 5oreover" the leaching of the plastic additives additives into the ground waters is now being &uestioned. &uestioned. 6n the other  hand" hand" uncont uncontrol rolled led burnin burning g of plastic plastics s includ including ing polyet polyethyl hylene ene in the dumping sites and other areas is not acceptable environment!wise. The

controlled incineration of plastic waste is also raising concerns in some cases.

oly olyet eth hylen ylene e

mate materrials ials

are are

not

bio!d io!deg egrradab adable le..

$he $heneve neverr

a

poly polyeth ethyl ylen ene e bag bag is thro thrown wn away away"" it does does not not deco decompo mpose se thro throug ugh h natural process. #t contributes to the accumulation of non!destructive waste of permanent nature. #f anybody looks at any garbage dumping site" he will observe this fact that although other garbage matter get decomposed and merged into the soil but polyethylene bags remain intact with their different colors especially the black colored polyethylene bags. olyethylene remains intact in the soil and disturbs the flow of  nutr nutrie ients nts to the the soil soil and and hind hinder ers s ente enteri ring ng sunl sunlig ight ht.. #t dest destro roys ys the the beneficial bacteria of soil and losses soil fertility. #t hinders the way of  soil soil comp compac actio tion" n" whic which h in the the long long run run effe effect cts s the the cons constr truc ucti tion on of  foundation of the different structure.

The use of polyethylene is not environment friendly. 5edical reports find it as an agent of cancer" cancer" skin diseases and other health problems. The user users s are are more more expo expose sed d to thes these e type types s of heal health th haa haard rds s when hen polyethylene is used to pack bread" biscuits" potato chips or other food items. items. #n the the deve develo lope ped d coun countr trie ies" s" food food is wrap wrappe ped d in food food!g !gra rade ded d plastic or polyethylene" but in 7angladesh this was not strictly followed and

sometimes

colorants

are

used"

some of

which

may

be

carcinogenic.

oly olyeth ethyl ylen ene e indu indust stri ries es for for shop shoppi ping ng bag bag prod produc uctio tion n emer emerge ged d in 7angladesh in early 8*s and within a decade the industry reached in such a level that the jute bag production forced to be almost closed. The use of polyethylene shopping bags had been so enormous that one coul could d find find the the poly polyet ethy hyle lene ne bags ags every veryw wher here i.e i.e in the the stre street et""

dumpsites" drains" ditches" open!fields" roop tops" hanging from trees and overhead cables" floating on ponds" canals" rivers.

9urvey report showed that near about 1* million polyethylene bags were used everyday and every year about 0*** million bags were dumped in :haka ;ity alone. The steadily growing use of polyethylene bags posed an ominous environmental problem in the city as well as in rural areas. This enormous use of polyethylene bags led to ! severe environmental impacts like soil degradation" loss of soil fertility" blocking up of drainage and sewerage systems" causing water logging and the spread of harmful microbes and bacteria. The worst example of adverse effect caused due to polyethylene bags was the delaying process of  recession of flood water in :haka city during 1228.

6ne of the effective ways of management of polyethylene bags is recycling/reuse of post!consumer polyethylene bags for other useful purposes. 7ut the state of recycling in 7angladesh again posed some other environmental haards and some means of transmission of  diseases. The burning of polythene in open air produces the threat of  poisonous gas like carbon mono!oxide" carbon di!oxide hydrogen cyanide those causes health haard to the people. The people who are involved in collection of polythene bags are the most vulnerable group.

Basic Terms What is recycling? What can we do?
What is ollution? There are many types of pollution happening today" even in your city. 6ne type of pollution we hear about a lot here in 9anta 7arbara is oil pollution. This can be spillage or even leakage of processed oil into oceans. 6ther types of pollution include air pollution +the layer of brown clouds you see when you go to 4os (ngeles and other big cities,. ollution from sewage and drainage into rivers and oceans also is a serious problem for our environment. 3inally" deforestation and industry development can also be thought of as ways the environment is being polluted.

!ow does ollution affect rivers" oceans" and our ecosystem? 6ur rivers" lakes and oceans are affected by pollution in many ways. 3irst and foremost" the organisms that live in these places are often harmed by pollution. The water can be polluted by chemical and product leaks" which may cause the animals who live in the water to get sick. (nimals who are high up on the food chain can also get sick from toxic build up in their bodies from eating other affected animals and plants. (ir pollution also has very negative effects on our atmosphere. There is a hole in our oone due to pollution in the air. #f this hole gets bigger we won%t be as protected from the sunlight and its heat. 5any years from now this could pose a serious threat to humans.

#econdary Research Ban on use of Plastic Bags Bac$ground: =sed plastic shoppers are notorious for choking sewer" open drainage system spoiling sanitation and creating an overall unaesthetic view of  environment. The practice of burning them on street sides at dump sites produces dioxins and furans" which are excessively and extensively being inhaled by human beings. :ue to their extreme toxicity of human system" they are responsible for producing serious diseases under  universally accepted international re&uirement" dioxins and furans are re&uired to be absolutely absent in air. 7ecause of polyethylene the raw material being on!degradable in nature" the plastic bag continued to be present in the environment and contribute their undesirable impacts for  a very extended period. 9ince they are extensively used in cities" therefore" these adverse impacts are extremely visible in urban areas. lastic bags are favored for a number of their desirable properties such as low weight" durability" and for a number of their other end uses like convenience in packing food stuff and other multifarious items besides virtually no cast to the end user that is customer. $here the very characteristic cause tremendous rise in their use in day to day life there at the same time unethical disposal of the used shopping bags adds to the entire problem in totality. (nd the situation has appeared now in the form of a menace to the environment in the form of choking of sewage resulting in ooing out owe fully dirty water on streets making stinking pools as good breeding grounds for a number of vectors of diseases like flies and mos&uitoes. These vectors spread diseases like cholera" typhoid" diarrhea" awful odor" contamination of drinking water thus further spreading these diseases and even hepatitis 7 and spoiling sanitation more dominantly in the bigger cities of akistan.

%fforts 6n the re&uest of E(!9indh the >overnment 9indh imposed a ban on the production. 9ales" purchase and use of black polyethylene bags form ?@ (ugust 122A. The unjab Environmental protection department imposed ban on black polyethylene bags from ) Bune 122). The 7aluchistan >overnment promulgated on ordinance on 12 3ebruary ?**1 titledC “The 7aluchistan prohibition on use and sale of polythene bags ordinance ?**1”" rohibiting sales and use of polythene bags" in the province. 9ince" no color of bag is specified- it transpires that" bags of all colors have been banned. The department of industries" D$3 has banned the manufacturer of polyethylene bags in the province. 9imilarly" there is a rime 5inister of #slamic
 (fter years of appeals by citiens and environmentalists" the government of  9indh moved against the offending bags in ?**@ by introducing an ordinance which later became the 9indh rohibition of 5anufacturing" 9ale and =se of  olythene 7ags (ct!?**@. This prohibited the manufacture" sale and use of  black polythene bags" including any bags under 0* microns% thickness" and set the punishment at a three!month prison term" a fine of
6n 5arch 1)" ?**" the 9indh environmental department and the ;ity :istrict >overnment Farachi +;:>F, started cracking down on the manufacturers and vendors of polythene bags in the banned category. >iven that the provincial environmental department was unable to frame rules in line with the  (ct and also lacked the magisterial power re&uired for the purpose" the ban was enforced through 9ection 1AA of the ;riminal rocedure ;ode +;r;, and on two different occasions" ;ity Daim 9yed 5ustafa Famal ordered a ban on the manufacture of such bags for 0* days.

Gowever" under the provisions of the law" the city government may not invoke 9ection 1AA of the ;rc for the third consecutive time on the same subject" claimed a source.

9hopkeepers can be seen using paper bags all over the city since a ban was imposed on use of polythene bags by the 9indh government under section 1AA on the re&uest of the ;:>F last week" which declared plastic bags a threat to the cityHs sewerage infrastructure and environment.

:espite facing problems in carrying goods purchased from shops" a majority of citiens welcomed the move but demanded of the authorities to compel shopkeepers to provide them merchandise in paper or cloth bags.

7urning of polythene bags was also causing environmental pollution" owing to which the ;:>F decided to ban both their use and manufacturing. Those associated with the production of polythene bags were advised to switch over  to production of paper and cloth bags. if alternatives to polythene bags were not promoted at this stage" the current campaign would just file out like the ;:>F%s past initiative in this regard. environmental pollution" plastic bags a threat to the cityHs sewerage infrastructure and environment

%ffects of &nti'olythene (amaign: olythene bagsH manufacturers and their trading bodies have started approaching the city administration to get some relief in manufacturing plastic bags" arguing that they use these bags to pack shipments for exports to other  countries and provinces where the use of polythene bags was yet to be banned.

The closure of manufacturing plants in days of economic recession would result in joblessness of hundreds of workers.

)iewoint The manufacturers of the plastic bags oppose the ban on plastic bags" arguing that" employment of thousands of person depends upon such cottage industries" which manufacture polyethylene bags. The ban will render many people jobless. They opine that in absence of polyethylene bags" if papers are to be used then" it will involve cutting of more trees" which is not advisable. The argue that this issue is basically that of  proper collection of the solid waste. #f the waste is collected by the municipal agencies on diurnal basis" then" there would be no polyethylene bags in dust bins. ;onse&uently" bags will not get air born" to create nuisance. ;ollection of solid waste on diurnal basis will have a beneficial impact. #f all the solid wastes generated are collected regularly" then the nuisance of plastic bags will be minimied to a large extent. ( committee was also constituted on the direction of ;hief  5inister unjab to technically review the whole issue. 7enefits of the aper 7ag

I

1**J reusable" recyclable and biodegradable.

I

Easier to carry than plastic bags.

I

Golds more items than plastic bags K fewer bags to handle.

I

Environmentally preferred.

I

;ontains A*J post!consumer recycled material.

I

( renewable resource ! comes from trees.

1. aper is made from a renewable resource" trees. $e can plant more trees" and we doL ?. aper grocery bags are strong enough to hold up to ?* pounds of groceries without breakingMand can be reused again and again. 0. aper grocery bags are made by workers in the paper factory +and recycled by paper mills here too,. A. Noull have plenty of containers to put your used paper" cans" or bottles in for recycling.

). Nour groceries wont slide all over the car on the way home. @. Nou can be part of the 7illion 7ags ;ampaign to reuse and recycle paper  bags and boxes. . aper bags are the shoppers choice +according to a survey by $illard 7ishop ;onsulting,. 8. aper bags are biodegradable +a plastic bag would still be in a landfill 1"*** years from now,. 2. The messages on paper grocery bags are printed with water!based inks. These inks are safer for the environment and make is easier for paper mills to recycle the bags into new paper.

#ome facts about Paer Bags aper >rocery 7ags (re >reat
5ore paper grocery bags +and lunch and shopping bags,

?.

9mall pieces of corrugated +cardboard, boxes

0.

Gousehold paper +mail" notebook paper" magaines...,

A.

;ans" glass jars and bottles" and plastic bottles that dont fit in recycling

bins +in some towns" you can use paper bags to separate items inside recycling bins" tooL,. ).


sites.

#uggestions 1., There is need to create an awareness and develop a thinking that an individual made a promise to himself as a,

# promise to recycle all the paper products collected in my community

+such as paper grocery bags" corrugated boxes" newspapers" milk cartons" cereal boxes" mail" office paper" magaines" and catalogs,. b,

# know the paper # recycle is used as a raw material to make new paper 

products" so it is important to recycle right. # pledge to pay attention to my communitys recycling rules. c,

7ecause paper grocery bags can be reused and recycled" # promise to

say Oaper" leaseO at the grocery store

Primary Research

#n our primary research we tried to find out the awareness level among people. #n this regard we use different techni&ues for getting information. The following three survey techni&ues were used in the research process

O

ersonal #nterviews

O

Puestionnaire

O

Telephonic 9urvey

O

3ocus >roup :iscussion

Research *indings Resondent+s ,ender 

%ducation

*re-uency of ,rocery shoing

&re you conscious about environmental ollution?

.o you agree that lastic bags are the cause of environmental ollution?

If yes" then how lastic bags harms the environment and individuals? •

$asted not :estroyable

•

9ewerage roblem

•

;hemically 5ade

•

roblem with disposing

•

4and barren

•

Gealth

.id you ever notice after using the lastic bag what you did of it?

If yes" then what you did of it? Throw in the 9treet

*

Feep with you for future purposes

1@J

4ook for dust bin to trash Dot in list' ThenQ'

.J *

.o you $now that suffocation of lastic bags can harm children?

#hould Plastic Bags be used in site of its imact in the environment?

!ave you heard of the ban on Poly bags in some areas of country and worldwide?

.o you thin$ the decision to ban the use of lastic bag is good and needed one?

Will a (omlete Ban on Plastic Bag be accetable?

By not /sing the Plastic Bag0 Nou can tick more than one

&void the foreign e1change loss

345

incurred on imort of chemicals used in lastic bags roduction2 %ncourage .omestic %nergy by

675

using cotton bag that is roduced with local material ,enerate emloyment oortunities 76265 in te1tile

#hould a few lastic bag manufacturers be allowed to derail a measure so imortant to ublic health?

What .ifficulties you find in stoing the use of lastic bags? •

 (vailability

•

4i&uid carrying

•


•

#f any alternative is available then no difficulty

•

olitical issues

.o you feel your social resonsibility to say 89O8 to lastic Bags?

(an you say 9O to lastic bags at the time of shoing and demand for other substitute?

&ccording to you which is the best substitute to the lastic bag? Paer bags

25

;ute Bags

675

<(otton=cloth or (anvas> Both

76265

.o you #uggest any other substitute? •

;loth 7ags

•

$ood 7askets

•

Thick lastic baskets

•

#f products are delivered at home no need for bag at all

Present #tatus: The #slamic overnment while taking the significant of the issue took necessary steps which includes

The >overnment of unjab" >overnment of 9indh" and >overnment of 7aluchistan promulgated ordinances to prohibit manufacturing" sale" use and import of black polythene bags or any other polythene below a specific thickness.

O


O

 ( continues awareness campaign through print media with a support of  D>6s for discouraging the use of plastic shopping bags" promotion of  alternative and its safe disposal.

O

=nder activity based capacity development (7;: project" one of the objectives includes development of awareness campaign and other  strategies to address the management and safe disposal of plastic wastes and shopping bags.

/%#TIO99&IR%

Name (Optional )

 __________________________________________  Location

 __________________________________________  Age O

20-25

O

25-30

O

30-35

O

35-40

Education O

Matriculation

O

Graduate

O

Master 

How frequently do you go for grocery shopping?

O

Twice a Day

O

Daily

O

Twice a week

O

Weekly

O

Monthly

O

 __________ 

Are you conscious about enironmental pollution?

!es

No

"on#t $now

"o you agree that plastic bags are the cause of enironmental pollution?

!es

No

"on#t $now

%f yes& then how plastic bags harm the enironment and indiiduals?

"id you eer notice after using plastic bags what you do of it?

!es

No

"on#t $now

%f yes& then what you do with it? O

Throw in the street

O

eep with you !or !uture purchase

O

"ook !or dust #in to trash

O

$ot in list% then  _________________________________________ 

"o you 'now that suffocation of plastic bag can harm children?

!es

No

"on#t $now

hould plastic bags be used in spite of its impact in the enironment?

!es

No

"on#t $now

Hae you heard of the ban on plastic bag in some areas of the country and worldwide? !es

No

"on#t $now

"o you thin' that decision to ban the use of plastic bag is good and needed one?

!es

No

"on#t $now

ill a complete ban on plastic bag be acceptable?

!es

No

"on#t $now

*y not using the plastic bags& we can

+ you can tick &ore 

than one'

O

 ()oid the !orei*n e+chan*e loss incurred on i&ported che&icals used in plastic #a* production'

O

,ncoura*e do&estic industry #y usin* cotton #a* that is produced with local &aterial'

O

Generate e&ploy&ent opportunities in te+tiles'

hould a few plastic bag manufacturers be allowed to derail a measure so important to public health?

!es

No

"on#t $now

trictly Not

hat difficulties you find in stopping the use of plastic bags?

"o you feel your social responsibility to say ,N-. to plastic bags?

!es

No

"on#t $now

/an you say ,N-. to plastic bag at the time of shopping and demand for other substitutes?

!es

No

"on#t $now

According to you& which is the best substitute for plastic bag? O

aper .a*s

O

/ute .a* cotton1cloth1can)as

O

.oth

"o you suggest any other substitute?

 _____________________________________________________   _____________________________________________________   _____________________________________________________   ___ 

"o you thin' that there is need to launch the awareness campaign concerning the harms of plastic bags?

!es

No

"on#t $now

"o you thin' it is better option to bring your own shopping bag to mar'et? !es

No

"on#t $now

0HAN$ !-1 2E3! 41/H 5-3 0A$%N6 0HE 0%4E

0- /-47LE0E 0H% 81E0%-NNA%3E

#ummary and (onclusion

6ur research topic was to find out the awareness level among people that to what degree they inclined towards the environmental friendly products. (nd in this regard are they familiar about the harms of polythene bags. (nd whether they want to have some other alternative available to take part practically towards the betterment of environment.

@imitations in research:

$e took secondary as well as primary research to find out the level of awareness among people. The limitations that we faced during research are mentioned below. Even though Time" 5oney and
#econdary Research:

#n secondary research we use different alternatives like-

#nternet 5againes Dewspapers 7ooks on environmentalism

 (nd the limitations were-

O

$e could not get the sufficient data related to our own country.

O

9ome websites were out of services

O

roblem of fit between the data available and data re&uires

O

>eographical 4ocations were also one of the constrains to know about people perception and behavior about global warming and environmental friendly products.

Primary Research: 6ur primary research comprises of

uestionnaireC

$e get the &uestionnaire from the students of #59 and the employees of The 7ank (lfalah. 7ut the major problem we faced was-

9on'resonse error

Ignorance: eople do not know much about the sensitivity of the product but they try to reach very genius. 4ike when they were asked whether do you agree that plastic bags cause environment pollution' They replied with positive node. 7ut when it was asked how' They were speechless.

Telehoning #urvey:

#n telephoning survey we used personal phone book to know about people behavior. (nd in this tool we face a problem

(ourtesy Biasness: The respondents did not answer what they perceived based on their knowledge and perception" rather they answered what we want.

(onclusion: $e conclude that whether the use of plastic bags is seriously injurious for the environment but according to research there are some advantages and disadvantages of polythene bagsC

.isadvantages of stoing olythene bag use

The participants mentioned some difficulties in stopping polythene bag use. 9ome shopkeepers said that a few shoppers refuse to buy goods from them now" looking elsewhere for someone who will give t hem a polythene bag. 9hoppers also said that it is difficult to carry fish and certain dry goods like rice and dal" and to wrap items to store in the refrigerator. articipants also said that they face problems when wishing to buy something" if they do not happen to have a bag with them. “#t is impossible to take a bag with you to the office"” explained one man. The men explain that now when they leave home" they must stop and think" $here am # going' $ill # buy anything'” Gowever" the general consensus was that it is simply a matter of breaking a habit" and that the difficulty will only last a few days.

“The difficulty will last a few days" but it will be good for the future.” #n general" participants also felt that while polythene bags are bad for the environment" they are far more convenient than current alternatives. 6ne man in particular expressed a wish for biodegradable one!use bags. Gowever" others expressed the feeling that one!use bags are always bad for the environment. They still take time to biodegrade" and thus could still block drains. #f they are produced with chemicals they will be bad for the environment" and if they utilie imported materials" then they will be a drain on the economy" as opposed to the use of jute bags.

&dvantages of stoing olythene bag use:

9ome of the shopkeepers even expressed pleasure" complaining that previously customers insisted on having a polythene bag with each purchaseMone banana" one bag- one egg" one bag. #t is now easier for them to refuse such demands. The participants seem to enjoy reviving the use of jute bags.

6ne man expressed great pleasure at the ban" discussing the economic as well as environmental advantages. Ge explained that since raw materials are imported for production of polythene bags" and since the bags are produced by machines and thus re&uire little labor" there are two economic disadvantagesC loss of foreign exchange to import raw materials" and few employment gains. Ge contrasted those problems against the advantages of jute bags" which are produced with local materials and employ far more people in their production

Recommendations: To eliminate the problems being faced and to alleviate the solution" possible recommendations areC

O

9ince" employment of many people depends on this industry" any major action may render the people jobless" there is need to encourage these people to adopt alternate substitutes.

O

O

 (ll solid waste generated" should be collected strictly on diurnal basis.

The top three forth portion of the dust bins should be covered. This will obstruct the flight of polyethylene bags.

O

6ptions of biodegradable bags should be carefully considered.

O

9ince" the bags get air bone. :ue its light weight the manufacture of  bags with ade&uate thickness be allowed to prevent its flight. The #slamic
O

 (rrangements with plastic manufacturers may be made" who could set up recycling centers" where they can buy the used plastic bags. These can then be recycled.

The city government" along with the plastic manufactures may start a mass awareness program on a large scale. This will" at least" prevent the house wives from the throwing the plastic bags outside of their homes.

O

@I#T O* #O/R(%#

O

R%#O/R(% (O9T#TR&I9T#

O

&((/R&(A &9. IPORT&9(% O* T!% #O/R(%#