Plastic bags stick around in the environment for ages! Actually, it can be from 20 to 1,000 years but it seems like forever. Here’s a quick experiment to show YOU why plastic bags are suffocating the environment.

WHAT YOU DO:
Grab a plastic bag from home, a sheet of old newspaper, aluminium foil and any other material you would like to try. Test the litter-factor of plastic bags by comparing them against the other materials.

1. Try pulling, shredding and tearing the plastic, paper and foil.

 
2. Try immersing the plastic, paper and foil in water.

 

Now take a piece of each outside into the wind and test how easily each of the materials blow around your garden, back yard or driveway.

WHAT HAPPENED?
Which materials tear easily? Which blew away? Which were affected by water?
The ability of materials to withstand wind, water and shredding are more likely to stick around in the environment. Because plastic bags are so light, durable (tough) and don’t break down they stay in the environment for years. They end up in landfill, and from there easily blow away to end up in creeks, drains and river. From there they float out to sea, where they can be devastating to the marine life.
All because they help us get our shopping to the car!