Going Plastic-free is a necessity!

Plastic is all around us. From the most miniature drawer in your house to the garbage in your neighborhood, there is an influx of this material everywhere. As a result, you may find an influx of this product lying around, causing the environment to become polluted and trash to clutter the roads. It also ruins the aesthetics and natural beauty of your surroundings which are unpleasant to look at. 

However, Plastic is more than a sore sight for your eyes. This product is also one of the significant contributors to global warming. We have entered a stage where climate change and global warming are getting out of control. This may result in tsunamis, wildfires, and the extinction of some of the most pivotal animals in the ecosystem. So the next time you throw a plastic item out, you'll reconsider your decision immensely. Here's why:

 

What Is Plastic and it’s Counterpart?

Plastic is a wide-scale lifestyle product made from polymers of repeating units. Depending on the type of plastic bag, each gets manufactured differently, such as regular plastic bags come from ethylene or ethane. How ethane or ethylene gets treated and subjected to different lab conditions produces various plastics. High-density polyethylene gives you grocery bags, while low-density polyethylene gives you glossy plastic bags. 

In Contrast, a non woven tote bag is the friendlier and environmentally sustainable version of Plastic. This is made from recycled plastic that can get stretched into threads that get bonded together. As a result, you get a durable, light weighted, and nifty product that is easy to carry and economical. Non-woven tote bags also make grand fashion statements. Since you can print or add anything to the material without fearing it will fade away.

Additionally, non-woven tote bags are biodegradable and decompose quickly. So within 90 days, if you discard a bag, there will be no traces of it left behind. But Plastic, on the other hand, is resilient and can survive for another 2000 years with no qualms. If you care about the environment and the lasting effects you have on it, try shifting to non-woven tote bags. The goal is to replace plastic-made tools and accessories that single-handedly destroy the environment. 

 

The Decomposition Timeline

Plastic never goes away. It can break down into smaller pieces, but those can still harm the environment and animals. Despite this knowledge, many products around you are made of plastic, and you use them almost daily. These include plastic cups and diapers. Depending on the type of plastic, the decomposition period varies. For example, coffee cups take 20 years, plastic straws take 200 years, disposable diapers take 500 years, and plastic toothbrushes take another 500 years. Collectively these can go up to 2000 years with no signs of disappearance. Plastic products also have a higher chance of outliving you, and future generations may never see an end to this nuisance. 

 

The Menace of Plastic

Plastic is a non-biodegradable product that only leads to filth, clutter, and pollution, destroying the world as we know it. You can never break down plastic completely; it decomposes into smaller fragments of the same material, which are still harmful. When these minute plastic products get swept into the sea, they can get ingested by sea and oceanic animals. 100% of baby turtles have Plastic in their stomach. This also includes fish, seagulls, and dolphins.

Consequently, these animals can choke and die on the ingested Plastic, ultimately leading to extinction. Plastic also uses chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) in windows, water bottles, plastic tops, and water supply pipes. The compound can impact liver and kidney function when ingested, leading to organ failure. Yet despite this, more than 93% of toddlers in the US tested positive for BPA in their systems back in 2003. Unless consumption gets stopped, it can lead to fatal results.

Furthermore, Plastic also contains harmful chemicals like neurotoxic and carcinogens. If you burn this material, you risk methane gases from getting produced on a large scale. This is one of the significant contributors to greenhouse gases, the driving force behind climate change. Our survival is at risk as our planet moves towards an unfriendly atmosphere. Plastic also fills up dumping sites and landfills. 

As a result, to control the amount of garbage, it may start getting thrown into countries like Antarctica and floated on top of the water to reduce the amount on land. To add insult to injury, plastic also comes from fossil fuels. When extracting useful material from these fuels, it goes through a process called fracking. 

This is bad for the environment as it releases toxic fumes into the air, and industries working on these natural resources may also dump chemicals into the water. Digging for fuels also causes a massive shift in the soil leading to erosions, uprooted plants, and destruction of scenic beauty.

 

The Devastating Impact of Climate Change

In 2018 the young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg sat outside the Swedish parliament demanding immediate action against climate change. She wasn't wrong. Climate change has led to some of the world's most horrifying disasters, and it's startling to know that something as insignificant as plastic bags is the triggering point. The rise in temperature and depletion of the ozone layer has led to unfiltered UV rays entering the earth's surface, leading to skin cancer, among other illnesses. Additionally, climate change disasters have tripled in the last three decades. 

Typical examples are all around you, including the 2020 Australian bushfire, which burnt down 10 million hectares of land and killed billions of local animals. Global warming and climate change also cause thermal stress in the water, causing coral reefs to become bleached and widespread infectious diseases that can impact marine life. We risk losing 99% of the coral reef population if we don't act fast enough. The effects of which are already visible on the Great Barrier Reef. 

In South Asia, torrential monsoon rain has led to wide-scale flooding in Pakistan, hurting more than 33 million people. These waters have also brought with them a fresh wave of diseases, destroyed lands, deprived the victims of food and water, and casualties in the form of drowning, infection, and starvation. 

 

Non-Woven Tote bags; The Superhero We Need

Plastic has done nothing more than wreak havoc on the environment for the last hundred years. Unfortunately, since it is non-biodegradable, the damage will last several years. This is why you must switch to non-woven tote bags and play your part in curbing this environmental degradation. Non-woven tote bags are sustainable and eco-friendly. Their reusable material is breathable, lightweight, and has the best air circulation that prevents your things from going bad. 

These bags are also light on your pocket as you buy them once and use them for a long time before you need another bag. This is because these non-woven bags are highly durable and can get recycled as much as you want. The bag is also cost-effective as you buy them once and keep them for a long time. 

Above all, these bags decompose fast, and because they're biodegradable, they don't leave behind any residue that can hurt wildlife. So if you're looking for a nifty tool to take your books, get groceries or use as a purse, non-woven tote bags are your best friend. Even if you burn this product, it will not affect the environment.

Furthermore, you can fold, wash, and carry it anywhere since it has a light and breezy material. There is never an instance where the bags don't look neat. Celebrities like Sophia Bush, Jennifer Aniston, and Jennifer Alba also agree with eco-friendliness. As a result, you'll find many pictures of them carrying this innovation. If you're eager to close the gap in the ozone layer, it's time to go Plastic free and let the world heal.

 

What Else Can You Do?

Curbing your plastic usage is not enough to revive the world. You need to go the extra mile and do more than stop purchasing plastic items. Switch to sustainable fashion that uses recycled threads similar to non-woven tote bags and invest in these green-thumbed brands. It would help if you also tried using minimal water with a bucket and mug to shower and wash your clothes, giving up the luxury of a washing machine and shower. These appliances use too much water, reducing the resource faster than anticipated. Other methods include using metallic straws, cups, and reasonable bottles for your water. You may also carry your cutlery and avoid plastic tools altogether. 

 

Final Thoughts

Plastic was once a valuable tool in our everyday lives. From bags to handy instruments, there was nothing this manufactured product was not helpful for. Unfortunately, over the past few decades, we have witnessed a startling rise in pollution, with plastic products being the main culprit. From landfills to wildlife, each sector is getting affected by this material. Unless we end it now, the lasting damage to the environment and climate may no longer be salvageable, and we may throttle towards extinction. 

Therefore the only remedy in these dark times is to practice sustainability, such as using non-woven material and recycled Plastic that is biodegradable and easy to get rid of. Gradually, we may be able to reduce the carbon footprint we leave behind and reclaim our planet for future generations to come.