Plastic bags disrupt the environment in a very bad way. They get into the soil and slowly release toxic chemicals. They eventually break down into the soil, with the sad result being that animals eat them and often choke and die. Plastic bags are suffocating the planet, with 60,000 plastic bags being bought in the U.S. every 5 seconds. They take huge amounts of energy to manufacture, transport across the country and recycle. They don’t break down in landfill sites, but over time they release dangerous chemicals. They’re incredibly hard to recycle. They contribute to a widespread, global litter problem. The floods in Bangladesh in 1988 and 1998 and frequent flooding in Manila can be attributed to blockages caused by this type of litter. The common three-arrow recyclable symbol is found on plastic packaging across the U.S. however in many cases it is a marketing trick, as there is no regulation of the symbol or legal requirements for the way it is used. Many of the plastic bags collected by recycling companies cannot be reused or recycled, as the industry that produces them does not want to buy them back. Most ‘recycled’ bags, therefore, end up in landfill sites or are shipped to Asia. Most of the Earth’s wildlife is in the sea, which means that at least 260 other species of animals are also at risk of ingestion or entanglement due to plastic bags floating in the ocean. Floating plastic bags are often mistaken for jellyfish by marine animals who feed on them, such as sea turtles which are threatened with becoming endangered due to the mass ingestion of plastics. Shards of plastic bags lay in their stomachs, leaving no room for actual food. This is a terrible problem. Only you can fix it.