Plastic Polution

[Jitendra Hydonus]

2 million single-use plastic bags are consumed every minute. Walmart hands out over 20 billion plastic bags each year and Target isn’t far behind.

The production and distribution of these plastic bags has a massive carbon footprint, using upwards of 12 million barrels of oil each year. The open burning of plastics contributes directly to air pollution.

Plastics are choking our oceans, fueling climate change, and threatening our food security. Plastic bags end up in landfills and waterways, harming both humans and animals. Microplastics, tiny toxic bits of plastic, have been found in almost every living animal, including human babies. Exposure to plastics harms human health, and potentially affects fertility, hormonal, metabolic, and neurological activity.

As two of the biggest retailers in the world, Target and Walmart are uniquely positioned to reduce plastic pollution by charging a fee for every bag consumed—and this has been proven to work! Los Angeles County banned plastic bags and instituted a charge on paper bags, which reduced single bag use by 95%. Plastic bag use fell by 90% in Ireland after a 37-cent bag tax went into effect. Australia was able to reduce plastic bag use by 80% in 3 months after 2 major retailers eliminated plastic bags in their stores.

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