Which of the environmental hazards is greater when the plastic bag is incinerated and buried? Which of the environmental hazards is greater when the plastic bag is incinerated and buried? Let's start with the composition of plastic bags.

Which of the environmental hazards is greater when the plastic bag is incinerated and buried? Let's start with the composition of plastic bags.

  Plastic bag composition:

(1) Composition of plastic bags

The main components of plastic bags are polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PV), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS), all of which are petroleum extracts. According to the U.S. Environmental Agency, 11 tons of crude oil are required to produce 1 ton of plastic bags. Environmental analysis in Japan and Germany showed that 1,000 kilograms of polyethylene are required to produce 50,000 plastic bags. At present, China uses more than 3 billion plastic bags per day, and the annual use of plastic bags exceeds 1,000 billion. In terms of 3 grams each, China consumes 9,000 tons of plastic bags a day, which means 99,000 barrels of crude oil.

(2) Incineration of plastic bags

At present, one of the main treatment methods for plastic bags is incineration. The incineration produces a substance called dioxins. It is known that the greatest harm of this substance is irreversible “triple” toxicity, that is, teratogenic, carcinogenic, and mutation. It is the “most toxic type of environmental hormones”. Once it enters the body or wildlife through environmental media and the food chain, it will interfere with its endocrine system and reproductive function system, affecting the survival and reproduction of future generations.

Dioxin is a colorless and odorless fat-soluble substance. Its toxicity is very large. It is 130 times that of cyanide and 900 times that of arsenic. It is called "the poison of the century." The International Cancer Research Center has classified it as a human first class carcinogen. Environmental experts said that "dioxin" is often found in the atmosphere, soil and water with tiny particles. The main sources of pollution are industries such as chemical metallurgy, waste incineration, papermaking, and pesticide production. The polyvinyl chloride plastic bags used by people in daily life contain chlorine. When these items are burned, dioxins are released and suspended in the air.

(3) Plastic bags landfill

The waste plastic landfill will not only occupy a large amount of land, but the occupied land will not be restored for a long time, which will affect the sustainable use of the land. Since the waste plastic products that enter the domestic garbage will be buried if they are buried, they will not degrade in 200 years, which will increase the pressure on the land resources. Mankind is not only a space that is surrounded by rubbish in our generation, but also a source of survival for future generations.

Therefore, neither incineration nor landfill is ultimately the best solution. To avoid the pollution caused by plastic bags, it is necessary to solve them from the source.

(4) Fundamental solutions

1 Less or no plastic bag

In daily life, try not to use plastic bags or reuse them. Now China has introduced a policy a few years ago. It is the repayment of plastic bags. Supermarket shopping malls, etc., no longer provide plastic bags free of charge, that is, in order to train us to use less plastic bags. Habits and recycling ideas;

At present, many countries have implemented the policy of charging plastic bags.

2 Research on degradable plastic bags

At present, it mainly includes four major categories:

Photodegradable plastics incorporate photosensitizers in plastics to gradually degrade plastics under sunlight. It is an earlier degradable plastic and its disadvantage is that the degradation time is difficult to predict due to the change of sunshine and climate, so it is impossible to control the degradation time.

Biodegradable plastics, under the action of microorganisms, can be completely decomposed into low molecular compound plastics. Its characteristics are convenient storage and transportation, as long as it is kept dry, no light is needed, and it has a wide range of applications. It can be used not only in agricultural mulch, packaging bags, but also in medicine.

A type of plastic that combines light/biodegradation, photodegradation and microbiology, which simultaneously possesses the characteristics of both light and microbiologically degradable plastics.

Water degrades plastics. Adds water-absorbing substances to plastics. Discards them when they are used in water. They are mainly used in medicine and hygiene, such as medical gloves, which are easy to destroy and disinfect.

Therefore, the best way to solve the pollution caused by plastic bags is to not use or look for alternative products. For our survival and living environment, it is recommended that everyone use plastic bags as much as possible, or reuse, or only use degradable, in order to reduce the pollution of the earth.

Finally, remind everyone that when using plastic bags, try not to use foods, especially cooked foods.