This was created by fact checking a famous internet chain mail describing the horrors of plastic bags. It appears that most of it was never really linked to any authoritative source. But news papers like the NY times a Boston Globe as fact. It is truely an example of Escience and Ejournalism where research is conducted online and professional standards of fact checking and documentation were abandoned
4. Data released by the United States Environmental Protection Agency shows that somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. National Geographic News September 2, 2003
5. What was really said in the National Geographic article…” According to Cobb's calculations extrapolated from data released by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2001 on U.S. plastic bag, sack, and wrap consumption, somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags” …Cobb was as an entrepreneur selling a reusable bag… The author presented the data as if it was endorsed by the National Geographic Society (NGS) and the EPA when the NGS truly presented it as an opinion. Additionally he never mentioned the quote may have been inflated for monetary gain
6. Less than 1% of bags are recycled. It cost more to recycle a bag than to produce a new one. - Christian Science Monitor News Paper
7. The 1% rate often reported is almost 10 years old. In the past few years many recycling plants have come online and the industry capacity grew 500% and continue to expand year over year. Most recently rates were at 5-6%...with almost all of the others being used for bin liners and disposed of properly
8. “ There's harsh economics behind bag recycling: It costs $4,000 to process and recycle 1 ton of plastic bags, which can then be sold on the commodities market for $32” - Jared Blumenfeld (Director of San Francisco's Department of the Environment)
9. One ton of plastic bags returned to a grocery store has a market true value between $300 and $500. The same amount of new plastic would cost about $2000. In San Francisco they were only referring to impact on consolidated collection only. Since bags are customarily returned to stores the quote was not relevant to the debate presented
10. Then… Where Do They Go? Although this was the right question to ask…many agenda groups never give you all of the facts…
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15. Many sites like planetark.com repeat the following myth … In the marine environment, plastic bag litter is lethal, killing thousands of whales, turtles and other sea life every year Australian government has said claims by environmental groups like comes from a Newfoundland study that actually links the deaths to marine debris not bags The Australian government has even retracted reports that had said the same thing http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/publications/waste/plastic-bags/analysis.html
16. Bags find their way into the sea via drains and sewage pipes - CNN.com/technology November 16, 2007 Did you notice there are no plastic bags in this picture? Maybe the problem is liter and not bags?
17. Plastic bags account for over 10 percent of the debris washed up on the U.S. coastline - National Marine Debris Monitoring Program You may notice this picture has many Litter items but no plastic bags!
18. Actually, in 2007 bags accounted for only 8% of the items collected by count and only 0.1% by weight during the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup Bags also trailed more common litter by count…like cigarette butts, caps, lids, food wrappers, and fishing debris… Is the problems bags or all litter? And if we want to make a real difference shouldn’t we start at the top of the list? Here is the real data… http://www.oceanconservancy.org/site/DocServer/ICC_AR07.pdf?docID=3741
19. Plastic bags photodegrade: Over time they break down into smaller, more toxic petro-polymers - CNN.com/tecnhology November 16, 2007
20. Although CNN did say that… they have never provided a link to a study…and no mainstream report can be found showing that plastic bags are toxic! The FDA even has a non objection letter for food contact with plastic bags that are made from recycled plastic..they are not toxic! By the way, did you notice the man? Although he is standing in trash, there are no shopping bags? Here is the CNN article: http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/11/14/fsummit.climate.plasticbags/index.html?iref=newssearch FDA non-objection to plastic grocery bags http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~acrobat/recy0002.pdf
21. These pictures were presented as arguments to ban plastic retail bags. But did you notice they only show garbage bags and no retail bags ?
22. Reducing plastic bags will decrease foreign oil dependency Actually in the United States bags are made mostly (80%) from natural gas and not oil ! If we actually switched other alternatives like paper or compostable plastics we would use more fuel in processing and transportation than we would save
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