New Biodegradable Plastic Bags May Eliminate Plastic Wast Pollution in the Environment

Imagine if plastic bags weren't such an environmental hazard. Imagine if instead they were made out of biodegradable materials. Scientists have now started making inroads into developing alternative biodegradable materials that could potentially replace fossil fuel derived polyethylene single-used carrier bags in the future.

Scientists are currently working on an ambitious project in order to develop a new type of biodegradable, single-use plastic bags that are recyclable, biodegradable and will have no harmful effects on plants or animals. They're not quite there yet, but they are getting close.

This is especially importance since from October 5, 2015, all large retailers in England have to charge customers 5 pence extra for each plastic bag that they use. Similar to the charges in California, this is designed to reduce the quantity of single-used carrier bags and the tons of litter associated with them. Instead, it will hopefully encourage people to reuse bags and bring cloth bags to the store to use.

What's important to note is that plastic bags that are biodegradable could be exempted from this charge. Encouraging the uptake of biodegradable bags and materials is advantageous since this moves society away from a linear economic model of "take, make, dispose."

Currently, the researchers are still working on the bags. However, the result of the research and development are expected within the next year. If scientists are indeed successful, these bags could be a huge boon to the environment, and may help eliminate plastic bag waste altogether.

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