Take a moment to think about just how prevalent plastic bags are in our everyday lives. From grocery shopping to product packaging, we encounter them on a nearly daily basis. While their convenience is truly unmatched, it’s important to understand their bigger picture – their environmental impact, relevancy, and the alternatives that are surfacing.

The Ubiquity of Plastic Bags

Plastic bags have been an essential part of consumer culture for over half a century. Originally introduced to replace paper bags, they have taken over various sectors due to their cost-effectiveness, durability, and light weight. Whether we’re shopping, packing up leftover food, or even just cleaning up after our pets, plastic bags are often our first choice.

However, it’s not just individual consumers who are choosing plastic. Businesses, too, find the convenience and cost-savings irresistible. One such instance of sector-wide adoption can be seen on the polypac Site, where a wide variety of plastic bags are displayed for commercial use. This includes anything from regular shopping bags to specialized packaging materials.

The Environmental Impact of Plastic Bags

While incredibly convenient, plastic bags pose significant environmental challenges. They degrade very slowly, over a span of hundreds to thousands of years, meaning that virtually every plastic bag ever made still exists in some form today. Combined with the fact that only a fraction of the billions of plastic bags used yearly worldwide are recycled, it’s clear that plastic bag waste is a critical issue.

Furthermore, these discarded plastic bags often find their way into oceans and other natural habitats, where they pose a direct threat to wildlife. Creatures can become entangled in the bags or mistake them for food, often with fatal results. Even as the bags break down into smaller pieces, they continue to harm ecosystems by releasing toxins and contributing to microplastic pollution.

Alternatives to Plastic Bags

Growing awareness of the environmental impact of plastic bags has led to the exploration and development of alternatives. Here are some noteworthy options:

• Reusable Bags: These bags, made from materials like cloth or jute, are designed to be used over and over again. They’re sturdy, sustainable, and often more spacious than plastic bags.
• Biodegradable/Compostable Bags: Made from plant-based materials, these bags are designed to break down naturally over time. Not all are created equal though, so it’s important to pay attention to certification standards.
• Bag-Free Shopping: Some stores are encouraging customers to bring their own containers or use provided baskets and boxes.

It’s also worth noting that many cities and countries are taking legislative action by banning or taxing plastic bags, further driving the adoption of these alternatives.

Moving Forward

As the environmental consequences of plastic bag use become increasingly obvious, we must rethink our habits. That isn’t to say that we must immediately eliminate all usages of plastic bags – in some cases, such as medical waste handling, they may still be the best tool for the job. Instead, we need to move towards a more mindful approach, where we use plastic bags only when necessary and responsibly dispose of them when we’re done. After all, the goal isn’t to get rid of plastic bags entirely – it’s to use them wisely while reducing the harm they cause to our planet.

byAlma Abell

Printing companies need to establish a competitive edge to remain essential for clients. This is nothing new to those who have been in the business for awhile. They embrace new ideas and work towards new goals to best new competitors and remain commercial mainstays.

Printing is a constantly changing territory. But why? Why is printing changing so much where other fields of the same kind seem to stay so similar? Technology is one thing, but is it really changing things enough to require a whole new makeover in the business?

The answer is not so much in printer technology as it is in Internet technology. With various progressions in software, individuals can print their own products online. Who needs a professional printing company when they can do it with their own printer at home?

This is a question that many ask. But the only ones really thinking about it are those who are disinterested in quality. Or example, a printer DPI quality prints. This is certainly a good print, but is it professional grade? One look at a printing service company’s hardware will confirm that this is not the case.

Really high quality printing services still edge out the home products. But for how long?

In product development, there is a trend that never seems to go away. Just as the home markets get a hold of something, the professionals are already one step ahead. New technologies take time to be mass distributed, allowing Printing Services in Reston to acquire the equipment before it hits the mainstream. This way, they always stay on top of developments.

What makes it all the more intriguing is that it forces the companies to stay on top of what they do. They will become obsolete if they do not upgrade steadily and at the right time.

The right companies strive for perfect technology, for the time. But the best ones work intimately with clients to get exactly they want. And this remains the core difference. As a client can do an inferior job at their home or with a competitor, they can find the best and the right printing service to work with them closely and even add additional features the client never thought of. Browse this Site to learn more on quality printing.

Scoop the Poop and Save the World!

by

Eric Eckl

Do you want to do your part for a cleaner environment and a healthier neighborhood? If you have yard — and a dog that plays on it — then making a difference is easier than you think.

Here’s a dirty little secret that most people don’t know: Dog doo causes water pollution. That’s right, dog doo. It’s full of germs that can make people and animals sick. Water scientists find that in some waterways, as much as 25% of the disease-causing germs they find come from pet waste. Think about that the next time you see that “no swimming” sign at an inviting-looking local lake.

You’ve probably never seen a pet owner throw dog doo directly into the water, so you might wonder “how these germs get there?” The answer is that the rain carries it there. Everytime it rains, the water runoff carries dog doo across the ground, into the street, and down the storm drain into local creeks, rivers, and eventually, the Chesapeake Bay.

You may not even realize it, but every time you scoop the poop when you’re out walking the dog, you’re being a good environmental citizen doing your part to prevent water pollution. And you probably thought you were just being a good neighbor!

But here’s an important point — dog doo left on your yard causes water pollution just the same as dog doo left on the sidewalk or in a public place. Dog doo is not a natural part of your area’s ecosystem, especially not in the amounts found in a normal neighborhood. Wild animals spread their waste over wide areas. But on the average quarter acre yard, the bacteria levels from dog doo can build up fast!

It would be great if dog doo was good fertilizer for your lawn or garden — like cow or chicken manure — but those little brown spots of dead grass tell us that it’s not. Unlike cows and chickens, dogs’ diets — and their waste — have high concentrations of protein. Dog doo “burns” the soil and kills grass.

So here’s what you can do to protect your yard and the local waterways where children play and animals live: pick up the dog doo when you walk your dog AND when he or she “goes” in the yard. You know the drill — scoop the poop in a plastic bag, tie it shut, and toss it in the trash. Your friendly neighborhood sanitation workers will take care of it from there.

And you don’t have to do it yourself, if you don’t want to. All you have to do is run a quick Google search for “poop scoop service,” and you will find plenty of local businesses eager to take that chore off your hands. Expect prices to start at $50 per month, and go up from there depending on how big your yard is, how many dogs you have, and how often you want the poop scoop service to come by.

Green grass and clean water. Do your part for both of these — pick up after your dog when you take it for a walk AND from the yard around your house.

Do you own a dog in Virginia? Do you live in Arlington, Alexandria, Dumfries, Fairfax, Falls Church, Herndon, Leesburg, Loudoun County, Stafford County, or Vienna? Then check out the Northern Virginia Dog Blog — your source for canine news and fun. This article was placed in this directory by the environmental awareness firm Water Words That Work, LLC, on behalf of the

Northern Virginia Clean Water Partners

.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com