ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES PLASTIC BAGS AND THE ENVIRONMENT The biggest problem with plastic bags is that it can take between 20 to 1000 years for them to decompose.One of the disturbing facts is what affect it can have on our wildlife.Once an animal has eating a plastic bag it will die the animal will decay much faster than the bag making it ready to be eating again.Plastic bags also clogs drains waterways,threating not just our animals but also our natural environment.You have probably noticed that there are different kinds of plastic bags.The supermarket bags are made from high density polyethylene(HDPE)while the thicker bags are made of a low density plastic unlike (LDPE)which canot be recycled. MANAGEMENT OF PLASTIC BAG USAGE With millions of plastic bags in cirulation,its is little surprise that plastic bags are a significant polluante world wide.On clean up Australia day in 2004 nearly half a million plastic bags were collected.Different countries have adopted a range of approaches to discourage the use of plastic bags.The use of plastic is being discouraged in countries such as Singapore and Taiwan.Some countries have enforsed a tax on plastic bags. ALTERNATIVES There are alternatives to plastic bags some retailers save the cardboard boxes so customers can use them to pack their groceries.Others may offer paper bags.Most shops know sell calico bags which are more stronger and can be used a number of times. ADVANTAGES OF PLASTIC BAGS There are some situations where you cant beat a plastic bag like when you are buying meat or chicken.They are light weight,low cost and are water proof and are also very convenient for carrying groceries.Factorys around world made over 5 trillion bags in 2004 ranging from large trash bags to shopping bags.