Plastic Bags

What do you know about plastic bags?? Here are a few interesting facts to know about according to WorldWatch Institute.

 Plastic bags start as crude oil, natural gas, or other petrochemical derivatives, which are transformed into chains of hydrogen and carbon molecules known as polymers or polymer resin. After being heated, shaped, and cooled, the plastic is ready to be flattened, sealed, punched, or printed on.

The first plastic “baggies” for bread, sandwiches, fruits, and vegetables were introduced in the United States in 1957. Plastic trash bags started appearing in homes and along curbsides around the world by the late 1960s.

North America and Western Europe account for nearly 80 percent of plastic bag use—though the bags are increasingly common in developing countries as well.

A quarter of the plastic bags used in wealthy nations are now produced in Asia.
Each year, Americans throw away some 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags. (Only 0.6 percent of plastic bags are recycled.)