It seems a bit ironic that many of the places that switched to plastic to save trees are now upset that the plastic is not very biodegradable and are now switching back to paper or reusable bags--that need to be washed to avoid cross-contamination.
Most bottled water is simply tap water--sometimes filtered and standardized in mineral content--and the plastic could come from the molding process of the plastic bottles.
@Don Alaska Few remarks have been heard lately about the downside affects of plastic being prevalent everywhere. The fact that while trees may have been "saved", petroleum was not, the precursor of many plastics. Or the 6-pack ring "keepers" which encircled beverage cans on their top rims, 6 to the group, enormous numbers of which (the rings) having been found floating on the oceans, unknown numbers of birds having succumbed to the presence of rings caught about their necks. But, nowadays we have an entirely new and unprecedented use for plastics: it's being fed to us in various packaged foods! It, along with "Microcrystalline Cellulose", (basically cellulose or paper-based material), may be found listed on many labels of common food products. Plastics? "China has been producing fake rice for at least four years, and it is still on the market. Singapore media reported that this “rice” is produced with potatoes, sweet potatoes and – believe it or not – poisonous plastic. It is shaped like regular rice grains but remains hard after cooking and can cause serious health issues. The rice in question China’s Wuchang rice. The rice is very popular because the real Wuchang rice is famous for its smell, and it costs more for its quality (almost double the price), according to Blue Ocean Network (BON) TV report, a popular English Channel in China." But many consumers still don’t know what they’re getting. See: https://althealthworks.com/7761/pla...d-it-can-cause-serious-health-problemsyelena/
I got into an argument a few years ago, of all places, within the comments of a review that I had done on some supposedly biodegradable doggie bags. I was living up north, near our camp then, and was using these bags for the cat stuff that I scooped our of their litter boxes, and was depositing them in some of the low spots, which would ordinarily accumulate water, on our 100 acres of woods. Someone argued, perhaps accurately, that they were not actually biodegradable, and that the plastic in these bags simply broke down into smaller pieces than regular plastic. That was fine. I didn't know if it was true, but I could have accepted that. But then he went on to rant about the plastic from my doggie bags finding its way into the oceans, where it would clog up the systems of fish and ocean birds. I pointed out that I was depositing these bags in a woods that was more than a hundred miles from the ocean, and that it would be unlikely to find its way to the ocean. That was preposterous, of course, at least in my opinion, and he wasn't able to tell me just how these bags were going to find their way to the ocean from the hole that I dumped them into in the middle of my woods. Others joined in, some supporting me, others arguing that the tiny pieces of plastic that would remain after it degraded would be ingested by animals and insect life, but were unable to tell me why these critters would eat plastic if it wasn't good for them. I think I mentioned that a squirrel could probably chew on the plastic bits on their car but that there was no good reason for them to do so. Finally, I lost interest, and probably everyone else did too. However, I think that soil contains all sorts of things that could be dangerous if ingested. Wouldn't microscopic bits of plastic be just another component of the soil that would be neither good nor bad?
You would have to find out what the bags were made from. There is truly biodegradable plastic and if they were made from that, there would be no fragments to travel anywhere; the plastic would just be digested by soil bacteria and melt away. Your critics may not have realized that the bacterial profile of the soil is much different from that of the ocean. Soil bacteria break down a lot of stuff-see compost piles.
I think that we as consumers are no longer asked if we want paper or plastic in a lot of places and are to assume that the companies are doing their part with respect to the environment. I just can't see every company having 'Biodegradeable' printed on every single plastic bag.
When I shred a credit card, the little bits of plastic end up in the compost, which later ends up in the garden or spread across the yard. I suppose I could be wrong, but I don't think this is anything to be concerned about. The little bits of plastic may add nothing to the soil except bulk, much like the little stones that help to keep the soil from compacting too tightly. Eventually, the petroleum and whatever else the plastic is made of will be absorbed by one thing or another - or not but, either way, I don't think there's a downside.
@Ken Anderson The more plastic credit cards disposed of, the better, IMO. But, like everything else, disposal must be carried out safely. Your suggestion that their remains might aid in preventing compaction of soil is a good one! Those folks who confronted you ought to witness a big landfill in operation, near some city, usually out beyond "civilization", and see what-all those big Packmaster Trucks dump there......... Frank
What they need to witness is what a dumpsite looks like a mere twenty years after it has been abandoned, and far less if it has been maintained appropriately. Grass, flowers, and trees will all grow over the site, and you wouldn't know that it was once a garbage dump. My brother built his house alongside what had once been a town dump. Although it was still a dump when I was a child, it is now grown up in evergreen trees, and his cameras regularly capture images of deer, bear, fox, and other wildlife in what is now an evergreen forest.
I once had a dove at my bird feeder that had some kind of plastic ring caught around his neck. He was starving and kept eating. Finally, his neck busted and the seeds would fall back out onto the ground. That was one of the saddest things I ever saw. He kept eating and the seeds kept falling out. The last time I saw him, he was nearly dead. If I could outlaw one plastic thing, it would be those plastic rings around cans.
According to the Daily Mail, 95% of the plastic in the oceans comes from ten rivers, eight of which are in Asia, and the other two are in Africa.