Plastic Bags Petroleum Usage

That s 520 bags a year a fuel equivalent of 60 miles of.

Plastic bags petroleum usage.

Plastic bags can be seen stuck in trees as litter in our neighborhoods and floating in our waterways. Plastic bags start as crude oil natural gas or other petrochemical derivatives which are transformed into chains of hydrogen and carbon molecules known as polymers or polymer resin. Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year which require 12 million barrels of oil to manufacture. 10 facts about single use plastic bags.

This non renewable resource can arguably be better used for more beneficial activities like transportation or heating. Plastic bags are made from petroleum products production of plastic takes 60 100 million barrels of oil from the world s petroleum reserves. As opposed to petroleum based plastic bags webber claims two thirds of the energy used to make paper comes from renewable biomass residuals such as tree limbs and bark that are used as a. According to waste management only 1 percent of plastic bags are returned.

Producing plastic bags transporting them to stores and bringing the used ones to landfills and recycling facilities require millions of gallons of petroleum. Therefore plastic contributes significantly to the depletion of this valuable resource making the prices of petroleum products to rise every passing day. Plastic bag usage affects both our communities and environment. An average american throws away about 10 bags a week.

It is estimated that about 12 million barrels of oil a year are used in making the plastic bags used in the us. The amount of petroleum used to make a plastic bag would drive a car about 115 meters. By some estimates nearly 12 million barrels of petroleum oil or fuel equivalents such as natural gas are used to produce 100 billion plastic bags. About 8 to 10 of our total oil supply goes to making plastic.

The recovery rate for paper bags and sacks is around 50 epa tote bags recyclable bags. The average american family takes home almost 1 500 plastic shopping bags a year. Americans use around 10 billion plastic bags each year which is equal to cutting 14 million tree each year. Plastics use has come under increased scrutiny as waste makes its way into the oceans where it harms marine life prompting several countries to ban partly ban or tax single use plastic bags.

On march 1 2020 a new bag waste reduction law took effect in new york state where over 23 billion plastic bags are typically used each year. It would take only 14 plastic bags to drive one mile. It only takes about 14 plastic bags for the equivalent of the gas required to drive one mile.