Jute: A Cure to the Plastic Pandemic
By Alison Borch and Emily Young • 3 min read
The Pressing Problem of Plastic Bags
Paper and reusable bags met their match in 1979, when plastic bags took the food retail industry by storm. The switch to plastic by Safeway and Kroger, two of the largest supermarket chains in the United States, compelled other stores to join the movement. As a durable, waterproof, and inexpensive alternative that could carry 1,000 times their own weight, plastic shopping bags quickly became the standard for carrying groceries. What started as an accident at a chemical plant in England in the 1930s soon became known as Polyethylene, one of the most commonly used plastics today.
Worldwide, nearly two million plastic bags are consumed every minute. American shoppers use 100 billion plastic shopping bags each year, more than 500 per consumer. Only 1% of plastic bags used each year are recycled, while the remainder are discarded in landfills, incinerated, or abandoned. The manufacturing and disposal of single use plastic shopping bags poses tremendous threats to the environment, wildlife, and human health. In order to manufacture the annual supply of plastic bags for the United States alone, 12 million barrels of oil are required. Both the extraction of this oil and conversion of oil into plastic emit pollutants and contaminants that fuel global warming. Further, once plastic bags are used, the majority are discarded in landfills where they perish under the sunlight and emit toxic chemicals that are released into the surrounding soil, contaminating groundwater and ecosystems. Plastic bags that are incinerated release toxic substances contributing to ambient air pollution that causes respiratory ailments. Further, those that are abandoned often cause drain and sewage blockages that lead to flooding, as seen in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Finally, eight million tons of plastic waste end up in oceans annually, where they take 450 years to be broken down. This plastic degrades into micro-plastics that marine wildlife confuse as food, blocking their digestive systems and killing one million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals annually.
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Faced with the detrimental impact of single-use plastics, Bangladesh became the first country to ban plastic bags in 2002. Today, 127 nations regulate the use of plastic bags, several of which have implemented plans to eliminate their use entirely. In October of 2020, Canada announced its intention to implement a federal ban on single-use plastic products, including plastic bags, by the end of 2021. Despite the commitments of these nations, the COVID-19 pandemic halted several plans to phase out the use of plastic bags in grocery stores. Consumers voiced concerns surrounding the spread of the virus, particularly through reusable bags. In light of COVID-19 concerns, policy-makers faced pressures to halt or suspend single-use plastic legislation. Stores were asked to provide plastic bags, and several plastic bag reduction initiatives were halted. With the end of the pandemic still uncertain, the use of plastic bags in grocery stores remains, along with its consequences.
A Sustainable Alternative: Sonali Bags from Jute
To combat the negative implications of plastic bags, Bangladeshi scientist Dr. Mubarak Ahmad Khan created the sonali bag, an environmentally sustainable alternative made from the cellulose of the plant jute. The vegetable fiber is located in South East Asia with 95% of production found in India and Bangladesh. These bags are 100% biodegradable and can decompose in as little as 6 hours. Although the average decomposition time is 3 months, the timeline beats plastic bags by hundreds of years. Dr. Khan’s sonali bags are affordable, recyclable, durable, and can carry up to 16 kg in one bag. In Bangladesh alone, jute production could fulfil one-third of demand for plastic bags.
In 2019, the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation launched a pilot project to produce 100,000 sonali bags and secured US$900,000 in funding from its government to facilitate large scale production. This presents an incredible opportunity for Canadian grocery stores to secure a contract with jute production facilities to substitute single-use plastic bags for sustainable sonali bags. Doing so could completely eliminate the need for plastic bags in grocery stores. While consumers should still be encouraged to use reusable bags when possible, introducing this alternative could significantly lessen consumers’ reliance on plastic bags and mitigate the environmental consequences posed by their use.
Sources
From birth to ban: A history of the plastic shopping bag
Fact Sheet: How Much Disposable Plastic We Use
Are Plastic Shopping Bags a Problem in Our Environment?
How Does Plastic Cause Air Pollution?
The case for exploring jute as an alternative to plastic
Bangladesh invents plastic alternative from jute