The history of plastic bags in the United States began in 1979, and by the 1990s, plastic bags had taken over the world. The obvious advantage for retailers was that they were much cheaper than paper bags. Buyers preferred them because durable, weather-resistant plastic proved to be relatively easier to transport. Single-use plastics are plastics that are designed to be used only once or for a very short period of time and then be discarded.
While shoppers still don't fully accept them, single-use plastic bags are cheaper than alternatives, and more and more stores are starting to follow the Safeway and Kroger change. Plastic companies are starting to aggressively market their single-use products and consider them to be superior to paper products and reusable bags. A first in the 1970s, plastic shopping bags are now a ubiquitous product found in every corner of the world. Plastic bags have gained ground due to the need for a cheap and useful way to transport goods. Currently, most plastic bags are not recycled and end up in landfills or pollute the environment, where they take up to 1000 years to degrade.
This immense collection of marine litter and plastic pollution, a threat to marine life, shows the harmful and long-lasting effects of single-use plastic products. The foods you used to take home in one or two paper bags can now hold five, ten or more of the flimsy plastic bags.
