Can Plastic Bags Be Dangerous to Us?

Plastic bags are not dangerous per se, but they can become so when not handled properly. Some people tend to burn them and if you happen to inhale the fumes, this definitely constitutes a danger to your health, as these fumes are highly toxic.

Another way they can become dangerous is if we leave our small children unsupervised and they happen to play with a plastic bag. Not only once happened that children died of suffocation due to having pulled the bags over their heads and somehow twisted them so much that they no longer received air to their lungs.

Many animals die every year from ingesting bits and pieces of bags which have been left in the forests and meadows by unconcerned campers and trackers. So not only humans are threatened by them, but so is the wildlife and our entire eco-system.

It seems that plastic bags take up to 1000 years to decompose if left on land and about 450 years if thrown in the water. Talk about a legacy to children, grandchildren and their offspring. Plastic waste is a real threat to all of us. We can't stop manufacturers produce them, and let's face it, we love our trusted plastic bags. But what we can do is make sure to reuse them as much as possible.

Reusing them means that less totes are used every day. We need to find a way to reduce the risks by using these bags in a safer way and finding better way to dispose them once they are no longer usable. Some people say that using bags that are over 40 microns thick can be safely recycled as they have also monetary value, which means that people will be more willing to bring them to recycling centers.

One of the things we've learned in school is the meaning of the 3 R's: reuse, reduce and recycle. Yet as we grow up we no longer seem to remember the real meaning of these. We like to throw away things, it's embedded in us through our culture and this increases the toxic waste dangers exponentially every day.

For example, instead of getting new totes from your grocery store with your shopping, use some that you have at home and take them with you to put your groceries in them.

Or use them as emergency diapers. If you have to throw them away, at least let them not be empty!

If you know to crochet, you have many options available, such as make them into a rope or create crocheted hats and other fun items that your children will enjoy.