What is the right substitute for plastic bags, and is it possible to prevent animals from suffocating as a result of swallowing plastic bags?
Two Knesset members who care about the environment and its quality have submitted a bill to stop the use of plastic bags.
I don't know the details of the proposal or how much the submitters were helped by "knowing things". On the face of it, everyone whose environment is important to him knows and understands the enormous damage that plastic bags cause to the environment (see my list on 22/7/05, which was moved from the old version to the bottom of this article), therefore the conservationists and environmentalists welcomed the initiative, an initiative that in many countries has become regulations and laws.
Not everyone blessed, there were those who expressed an opinion that was not always positive. The main reservation was based on two assumptions - the correct assumption that a replacement for the plastic bags would be needed, and the (less correct) assumption that the replacement would be paper bags.
And here the opponents added data showing that: the production of paper bags is more expensive in terms of energy, and also that the decomposition time of paper bags in nature is longer than plastic, two data that are fundamentally correct but misleading when considering the consequences, since despite the "survivals" of paper in nature, it is not a poison. Plastic bags - even after they break down, they are poison.
As someone who has seen surgeries to check the death of animals, I can testify that I have seen dozens of animals die because of plastic bags, usually intestinal obstruction, but I have never seen that paper caused death, so even if the paper bags are in the wild for a longer time it will not cause damage like that caused by plastic bags.
Everything is fine and dandy, just one non-binding fact - whoever said (wrote) that paper bags are the necessary substitute... is wrong. There is no reason for every candy purchase to be packed in a bag... in addition to the existing packaging, there is no reason for a purchased toy or device to be immediately packed in a lot of bags. The automatic movement of every woman to wrap in plastic is a Pavlovian conditioning that is possible, desirable and important to give up. When I see how when purchasing products at the "super" the cashiers help pack each product, each bottle and each box in an extra bag... My heart goes out, as I know there is a good chance the bags will be flying around.
Therefore - paper bags are not the substitute, the substitute is a basket, cloth bag, or any other container bought with money and as such will be used many times and will not add to the volume of garbage that Israelis already have. Even thick plastic bags that can be used a number of times, bags that will be purchased for an amount that will prevent immediate disposal and encourage reuse, as is customary in countries where residents respect their environment.
It would be correct to amend and enact regulations and laws to prevent the flooding of our environment with plastic, it would be more correct to educate the audience of "users" to avoid littering.
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If it's so important to you, maybe keep it to yourself and send it to your friends.
I agree and practice this way in practice.
with gratitude
honeysuckle