INRODUCTION:Almost every market that you go today, you will see people carrying their shopping items in plastic

bags. Right from food items to clothes to shoes, there is hardly any item that we do not use a plastic bag to carry. Plastic is the major threat to the environment today. It has a very high residence time within the environment most items of plastic are used for 20-30 minutes before they are discarded sometimes lasting 1000 years within the terrestrial environment. This usually ends up within marine sources. The Pacific Ocean has one of the largest dumping grounds for plastics, unknown numbers of sea birds marine mammals and fish ingest plastics which causes a variety of negative health effects. A plastic bag is most often usable once or twice if the contents placed into it aren't too heavy. When heavy items, such as canned foods or bottles, are placed in the bag, the handles are more likely to break. Double-bagging the goods is a common practice, but this practice uses more bags and creates more trash. A reusable cloth bag is much more durable and able to withstand repeated use. The handles are sturdier, making them better equipped to handle heavier items.

Research suggests that all plastics may leach chemicals if they're scratched or heated. Research also strongly suggests that at certain exposure levels, some of the chemicals in these products, such as Bisphenol A (BPA), may cause cancer in people. BPA also seems to affect brain development in the womb. In 2011, a study found that pregnant women with high levels of BPA in their urine were more likely to have daughters who showed signs of hyperactivity, anxiety, and depression. The symptoms were seen in girls as young as 3.

It is a compound that is indestructible, even when it is melted the compound gas that is gives off is very harmful to our health and environment; it weakens the ozone layer.

DISADVANTAGES OF PLASTICS:1. Environmental Damage Plastic bags have been known to cause a lot of environmental damage. A single plastic bag can take up to 1000 years, to decay completely. This makes the bags stay in environments longer, in turn leading to great build-up on the natural landscape (much more than degradable materials like paper). In other words, the more plastic bags you use, the greater the chances of environmental damage. 2. Threat to Animal Life

As per Marrickville Council of Australia, as many as 100,000 whales, turtles and birds deaths have been reported to die every year, mainly because of plastic in their environment. Plastic bags not only have adverse effects on our natural habitats, but have also been found to be responsible for the death of many animals; mainly on account of the suffocation encountered on eating them Plastic bags in the water may get wrapped around marine animals. Sea turtles sometimes swallow plastic bags because they resemble jellyfish. The plastic bags may make the animals suffocate or starve to death.

3. Suffocation Not only animals, infants and young children have also been reported to have lost their life, on account of plastic bags. Since plastic bags are thin and airtight as well, children often end up blocking their mouths and nostrils with them. In case they are not being monitored by an adult, this leads to suffocation and, in some cases, even death. 4. Pollution Plastic bags are extremely durable. In case you are thinking of this as an advantage, just bring to mind an image of the huge landfill that you visited on the city outskirts, the other day. In most probability, majority of the rubbish present there will comprise of plastic bags only. In other words, plastic bags have led to a great increase in the pollution levels. 5. Fumes Since plastic bags are non bio-degradable, the only way to get rid of them is to burn them up. Though lighting a match to them is easy, it has more than its fair share of disadvantages. The biggest of them is that smoldering plastics can release toxic fumes into the environment, in turn taking the air pollution to much higher levels. 6. Non-renewable One of the main disadvantages of plastic bags is that they are not renewable. The reason behind this is that they are made of petrochemicals, a non-renewable source of energy. They can be recycled, but not as easily as paper bags. Plastic bags can last for as much as hundreds of years. In other words, long after you are no more, the plastic bag used by you will be in existence.

7. Non-Biodegradable Estimates of the number of plastic bags used around the world each year vary in range from 100 million to a trillion according to a New York Times article. Since only a small portion of these bags is recycled, many plastic bags are left to enter the waste stream. The bags will likely take about 1,000 years to decompose. Because such a large number of bags are produced and it takes a long time for them to decompose, the plastic bags that are thrown away create a lot of waste in the landfills on top of the trash that may be inside of them. 8. Major disadvantage most plastic is produced from oil and the world is gradually running out of oil. 9. It is a recycle process, but it is very costly. ALTERNATIVES OF PLASTIC BAGS:Organic Bags /Jute Bags These can be a great alternative to plastic bags. They may cost a bit more than the reusable bags sold at grocery stores but they are made out of organic materials such as cotton, which is biodegradable. Places such as Eco bags sell organic bags and mesh totes made out of organic material.

Backpacks Some people use backpacks as an alternative to plastic bags to carry their groceries. A backpack can be a lot easier, especially if you take public transportation or ride a bike to the store.

Baskets For a more interesting and creative look, you can also use a wicker basket to carry your groceries. If you get one that is made well, it will be sturdy enough to carry even heavy items.

Rolling Shopping Bags These can be made of nylon, metal or other materials with wheels on the bottom. The benefits to these are that they can stand on their own as you shop and you can pull them instead of carrying them, if you have a heavy load.