!LSSlCA S1AnuLL?

nA1PAn !AMLS
8C xlAC
CA88Cn nLu18ALl1?
unS1 421
S8lnC 2010

1PL LAS1lC 8AC

8C!LC1
Cur group challenged lLself Lo flnd a way Lo reduce dlsposable bag usage on Lhe orLland SLaLe campus. We researched Lhe usage of
dlsposable bags aL selecL reLallers and researched Lhe carbon emlsslons from Lhese bags from producLlon and LransporLaLlon. 8ased
on our research we came up wlLh a proposal Lo reduce Lhe usage of Lhese dlsposable bags. LasLly, we surveyed orLland SLaLe
sLudenLs on usage and posslble effecLs of our proposal.

ln18CuuC1lCn
WhaL are plasLlc bags, a convenlence, a nulsance, a problem, dangerous? 1hey are all of Lhe above. 1hey were made for
convenlence, Lhey are now and nulsance because of Lhe unbellevable numbers LhaL are used and produced per year. 1hey are a
problem because Lhey Lake nearly 1000 years or more Lo break down and Lhey also requlre Lhe use of peLroleum, crude olls, and
naLural gases whlch are non-renewable resources
1
. And Lhey are dangerous for our envlronmenL because of Lhe energy and carbon
emlsslons Lhey make durlng Lhe producLlon and dlsLrlbuLlon. 1hey also are responslble for over 100,000 sea LurLle and oLher marlne
anlmal deaLhs. 1hese anlmals lngesL Lhem because Lhey mlsLake Lhem for food and Lhey geL enLangled ln Lhem because Lhese bags
are floodlng Lhelr waLers
2
.

PlS1C8?
1he shopplng plasLlc bag flrsL made lLs way lnLo our llfe for convenlence when reLalllng sLores llke !C enny and Sears swlLched Lo
plasLlc merchandlse bags ln 1974 afLer Lhe flrsL commerclal manufacLurers for Lhe plasLlc grocery bag was lnLroduced ln 1973.
ShorLly afLer, Lhe plasLlc bags began Lo be used ln grocery sLores. 1he plasLlc bag dldn'L [usL appear ouL of nowhere. lL all began ln
1937 when bags for small foods and sandwlches were lnLroduced. ln 1938, Lhe brown paper bag was beglnnlng Lo be replaced by
plasLlc poly dry cleanlng bags. ln 1966, Lhe plasLlc produce bags were lnLroduced lnLo grocery sLores
1
.

nuM8L8S
WhaL began wlLh small numbers has now Lurned lnLo a mlnd blowlng over 300,000,000,000 (300 bllllon) plus plasLlc merchandlse,
grocery, and blodegradable bags used annually worldwlde. 1haL ls over 1,000,000 used per mlnuLe. Some of Lhe blggesL culprlLs are
AusLralla and lreland per caplLa. 8efore Lhey began Lo make changes and flx Lhe problem lL was sald LhaL Lhe average ln Lhese
counLrles were uslng around 320 bags per person
2
. Amerlcans are around 200 per person
3
.

1?LS
eLroleum, crude olls, and naLural gases are exLracLed from Lhe earLh and used for Lhe producLlon of polyeLhylene. olyeLhylene ls
Lhan used Lo make plasLlc bags. Some Lypes and Lhelr uses are:
LLuL: Merchandlse bags(noL grocery), plasLlc sheeLs, Loys
4

LuL: ackaglng wraps, conLalners
3

PuL: Crocery bags, boLLles, plasLlc lumber, vC
6

8lodegradable plasLlcs are anoLher opLlon for plasLlc bags, boLLles, packaglng wraps, conLalners
7
. 1hey are produced wlLh sLarches
and polymers whlch are earLh frlendly. 1hey Lake 9 monLhs Lo flve years Lo blodegrade and Lhls process does noL leak Loxlns lnLo Lhe
earLh llke plasLlc. Carbon ls emlLLed durlng Lhe producLlon phase of Lhe lngredlenLs, and dlsLrlbuLlon, buL Lhere are no carbon
emlsslons durlng Lhe blodegrade sLage
8
.


8CuuC1lCn
lL Lakes 1.73 kg of peLroleum Lo make 1 kg of PuL whlch makes 167 bags grocery bags. 1hls same amounL of peLroleum used wlll
make 0.3 kg of LLuL or LuL whlch makes around 33 bags. 1hls ls enough peLroleum Lo power a car for 12 mlles
11
. WlLh Lhe amounL
of bags made per year, lf we were Lo sLop Lhe producLlon of Lhe bags all LogeLher, lL would be enough peLroleum Lo power cars for
around 30,360,696,780.24 (bllllon) mlles per year.
lf 1.73 kg of peLroleum wlll make 167 PuL and power a car for 12 mlles, Lhen Lhe amounL of peLroleum used Lo make
400,000,000,000 (amounL assumed) PuL bags wlll power a car for 28,742,314,970.06 mlles. And Lhe amounL of
peLroleum used Lo make 100,000,000,000 (amounL assumed) LLuL bags wlll power a car for 21,818,181,818.18 mlles.

18AnSC81A1lCn
1he LransporLlng of Lhese bags ls anoLher reason why Lhe bags are dangerous for our envlronmenL. Accordlng Lo a LCA (Llfe Cycle
Analysls) done ln 2002, 67 of PuL bags are comlng from Pong kong, 34 of LuL and LLuL are comlng from Pong kong, and
100 of blodegradable bags are comlng from lLaly
9
(Lhe numbers of manufacLurers for blodegradable bags have lncreased slnce Lhls
sLudy). 1hese numbers means LhaL some bags are Lravellng around 7000 mlles [usL Lo geL Lo us ln Amerlca.

Lnu Cl LllL
AL Lhe end of Lhe llfe of Lhe plasLlc bags ls Lhe worsL parL of Lhe problem wlLh Lhe plasLlc bag. lor Lhe plasLlc grocery bag, Lhey are
able Lo be recycled aL local grocery sLores. 1hese are Lhan used for Lhe maklng of plasLlc lumber and more plasLlc bags, buL only 1-3
of Lhese acLually make lL Lo Lhe grocery sLores for recycllng
10
. 1he LLuL and LLuL bags do noL have a recycllng program. 1hey are
[usL Lhrown away. 1he LCA done ln 2002 brlngs Lhe end of llfe assumpLlons lnLo perspecLlve
9
:
PuL
73.3 ln landflll
1-3 recycled
.3 llLLered
19 reused
LLuL/LuL
80.3 ln landflll
0 recycled
.3 llLLered
19 reused
8lCuLC8AuA8LL
70.3 ln landflll
10 composL
.3 llLLered
19 reused

C81LAnu S1A1L unlvL8Sl1?
AL orLland SLaLe unlverslLy Lhe 8lodegradable bags are belng used aL boLh Lhe SLudenL sLore and Lhe Creen Llne sLore on campus.
AL Lhe 8ooksLore, Lhey use Lhe LLuL because of lLs Lhlckness and ablllLy Lo carry exLra welghL. Pere are Lhe locaLlons of Lhe
dlsLrlbuLor and manufacLurers of Lhe bags used aL Su.
12
Creen Llne: -use approx. 10,000 Lo 20,000 blodegradable bags per year
-LCM 8lofllms - LocaLed ln Callfornla and manufacLured ln Chlo
-Chlo Lo Callfornla = approx. 2,000 mlles
-Callfornla Lo Cregon = approx. 800 mlles
13
SLudenL SLore: -use approx. 3,000 blodegradable bags per year
-1rellls LarLh bags - LocaLed ln orLland and manufacLured ln Chlna
-Chlna Lo Cregon = approx. 7,000 mlles
14
8ook SLore: -use approx. 30,000 Lo LLuL bags per year

-8oplasL lndusLrles- LocaLed and manufacLured ln Callfornla (800 mlles)

CA88Cn LMlSSlCnS Cl LAS1lC 8ACS
Accordlng Lo, 1lme for Change
16
, for each kg of olyeLhylene produced, 6kg of CC2 wlll be emlLLed (2kg of oll for energy and raw
maLerlal, and for each kg of oll creaLes 3kg of CC2). ln order Lo deLermlne Lhe amounL of CC2 emlLLed for Lhe producLlon of Lhe
LLuL bags used aL Su we look aL lnformaLlon sLaLed earller whlch sald LhaL 1kg of peLroleum wlll produce 0.3kg of LLuL and Lhls
wlll make around 33 bags. 1he Su booksLore uses 30,000 bags per year. lf 0.3kg of LLuL = 33 bags Lhan 272.73 kg of LLuL =
30,000 bags
272.73 x 6 = 1636.36kg (3607.3 lbs) of CC2 emlLLed
272.73/0.3 = 909.1kg of peLroleum used
Accordlng Lo, LCM 8lofllms
12
webslLe, only durlng Lhe producLlon phase of Lhe corns and sLarches do Lhelr bags produce any carbon
emlsslons. 1hls ls noL LoLally LruLhful. 1hey fall Lo menLlon how much energy ls used for packaglng and LransporLaLlon.

1on mlle ls a Lerm LhaL ls used by Carbon lund
13
whlch sLaLes LhaL a Lon of frelghL Lravellng one mlle ls a Lon mlle. 1hls Lerm ls used
Lo deLermlne Lhe amounL of CC2 LhaL ls belng emlLLed for a Lype of LransporL.
Alr Cargo = 1.7739 lbs of CC2 per 1M
1ruck = 0.323 lbs of CC2 per 1M
1raln = 0.2306 lbs of CC2 per 1M
Sea lrelghL = 0.0087 lbs of CC2 per 1M
Zeppelln = 0.1937 lbs of CC2 per 1M
Accordlng Lo SusLalnablllLy vlcLorla, Lhe welghL ln grams of Lhe LLuL ls 18g and 3g for Lhe blodegradable bags. WlLh Lhe mlles we
have for Lravel and Lhe welghL of Lhe bags wlLhouL Lhe lnformaLlon of Lhe package maLerlal, we can geL a rough esLlmaLe of Lhe
carbon emlsslons of [usL Lhe LransporLaLlon of plasLlc bags for Su. We can assume Lhls ls a one Lrlp LransacLlon and Lhe only Lhlng
belng hauled.

8ooksLore: 30,000 LLuL bags Lravellng 800 mlles, assumlng by Lruck.
30,000 x 18g = 900,000g Lhls ls 1984.131 lbs (1 Lon)
1ruck Lravel emlLs 0.323 lbs of CC2 per 1M.
800mlles x 0.323 = 260 lbs of CC2 emlLLed.


Creenllne: 3,000 blo bags Lravellng 2,800 mlles. 2,000 by plane, 800 by Lruck.
3,000 x 3g = 13,000g Lhls ls 33.07 lbs (0.013 Lons)
lane Lravel emlLs 1.7739 lbs of CC2 per 1M.
2,000 mlles x 1.7739 = 3347.8 lbs of CC2 mulLlplled by 0.013 because Lhe welghL was less Lhan a Lon. 3347.8 x 0.013 = 33.22
lbs of CC2 emlLLed
800 mlles x 0.323 = 260 x 0.013 = 3.9 lbs of CC2 emlLLed.
33.22+3.9 = 37.31 lbs of CC2 emlLLed.

SLudenL SLore: 10,000 Lo 20,000 blo bags Lravellng 7,000 mlles, assumlng by plane.
10,000 x 3g = 30,000g Lhls ls 110.23 lbs (0.03 Lons)
lane Lravel emlLs 1.7739 lbs of CC2 per 1M.
7,000 mlles x 1.7739 = 12,417.3 lbs of CC2 mulLlplled by 0.03 because Lhe welghL was less Lhan a Lon. 12,417.3 x 0.03 =
620.87 lbs of CC2 emlLLed.
lf 20,000 bags Lhan 1241.74 lbs of CC2 emlLLed.
~AssumpLlon wlLh sea frelghL: 30,000g (0.03 Lons)
Sea frelghL Lravel emlLs 0.0087 lbs of CC2 per 1M.

7,000 mlles x 0.0087 = 60.9 lbs of CC2 mulLlplled by 0.03 because Lhe welghL was less Lhan a Lon. 60.9 x 0.03 = 3.043 lbs of
CC2 emlLLed.
lf 20,000 bags Lhan 6.09 lbs of CC2 emlLLed.

Carbon Lmlsslons from lasLlc bags
1he blodegradable bags from Lhe SLudenL SLore ln Lhe SmlLh 8ulldlng are manufacLured ln Chlna, whlle blodegradable bags
from Lhe Creen Llne are made ln Chlo. 1he SLudenL SLore consumes an average of 13,000 bags annually. 1he Creen Llne [usL
opened ln !anuary and has uses abouL 230 bags each monLh. 1hus, Lhe pro[ecLed annual usage of bags ls abouL 3,000. 1he
annual consumpLlon of bags for boLh sLores ls LoLal 18,000. Slnce Lhe welghL of bag ls 3 grams , Lhen Lhe LoLal number of
bags ln pounds boLh sLores use ls 198.42 each year. Accordlng Lo a sLudy by CenLer for ueslgn aL 8Ml1 unlverslLy ln
AusLralla, 4.96 kg of carbon dloxlde emlLs Lhrough Lhe usage of elecLrlclLy and fuel ln order Lo produce 4.21 kg of sLarch-
polyesLer
17
. 8y assumlng a llnear relaLlonshlp beLween carbon dloxlde emlsslon and Lhe consumpLlon of bags, Lhe carbon
emlsslon for boLh sLores ls 234 lbs per year. nlLrous oxlde releases ln Lhe growlng process ln Lhe crops and meLhane emlLs
ln landflll, however, boLh emlsslon of nlLrous oxlde and meLhane ls a small fracLlon of LoLal green house gas compared Lo
carbon dloxlde
18
. AlLhough Lhe componenLs of blodegradables bags (made ln lLaly) ln AusLralla may be dlfferenL Lhan Lhe
one boLh sLores currenLly use (made ln Chlna), Lhe larger fracLlon of green house gas ls sLlll carbon dloxlde ln boLh cases.
1able 1 1he respecLlve number of carbon emlsslon of bags for each sLore due Lo producLlon
SLudenL SLore +Creen Llne
(lbs)
8ook
SLore(lbs) 1oLal (lbs)
234 3607.3 3841.3










llgure 1 Annual carbon dloxlde emlsslon of bags durlng Lhe producLlon process

ln llgure 1, 8ook SLore has Lhe mosL Lhe carbon emlsslon of bags due Lo producLlon (3607.b lbs) whlle Lhe comblned carbon
emlsslon of SLudenL SLore and Creen llne ls only 234 lbs per year. llrsL, Lhe plasLlc bags of 8ook SLore are LuL LhaL needs

more energy Lo producLlon and resulLs ln more carbon emlsslon, whlle boLh SLudenL SLore and Creen Llne use
blodegradable bags whlch are made from sLarch-polyesLer and resulLs ln less carbon emlsslon. 1he LoLal annual carbon
emlsslon for Lhree sLores ls 3923.3 lbs.
1able 2 1he carbon emlsslon of bags due Lo LransporLaLlon for Lhree sLores
Creen Llne
(lbs)
SLudenL SLore
(lbs)
8ook SLore
(lbs)
1oLal
(lbs)
37.31 1241.74 260 1339.03

llgure 2 Annual carbon dloxlde emlsslons of bags due Lo LransporLaLlon phase.

ln llgure 2, Creen Llne has Lhe leasL amounL of carbon emlsslon due Lo LransporLaLlon (37.31 lbs). 8ook SLore comes ln
second wlLh 260 lbs and SLudenL SLore has Lhe hlghesL amounL of carbon emlsslon (1241.74 lbs). 1he LoLal carbon emlsslon
for Lhree sLores ls 1339.03 lbs. 1he blodegradable bags (13,000) of SLudenL SLore are purchased from a company called
1rellls LarLh who obLalns Lhe bags from Chlna
19
. 1hus, lL Lake a very long flylng mlleages (7,000 mlles) 1he bags of boLh
Creen Llne and 8ooksLore(33,000) are manufacLured ln Lhe u.S and are mosL by Lruck and parL of lL by alrplane, whlch has
shorL Lravellng mlleages.
1able 3 1he LoLal carbon emlsslon of bags for Lhe sLores
roducLlon
(lbs)
1ransporLaLlon
(lbs)
1oLal
(lbs)
3841.3 1339.03 3400.3

llgure 3 1oLal carbon emlsslons for Lhree sLores each year.


ln llgure 3, Lhe producLlon of bags emlLs 3841.3 lbs carbon dloxlde whlle Lhe LransporLaLlon of Lhose bags resulLs ln
1339.03 lbs carbon emlsslon. 1he LoLal carbon emlsslon for Lhree sLores ls 3400.03 lbs each year. Cne reason Lhe carbon
emlsslon due Lo producLlon ls more Lhan Lhe LransporLaLlon ls LhaL Lhe number of bags of 8ook SLores use each year ls
30,000(3 Llmes of more bags Lhan Lhe oLher Lwo sLores) and LuL.


lMLLMLn1A1lCn Cl CPA8CL lC8 8ACS ln C1PL8 LACLS
ln WashlngLon, u.C. sLarLlng Lhls year a flve cenL fee was placed on dlsposable bags. ln Lhe flrsL monLh, esLlmaLed
bag usage wenL from an esLlmaLed 22 mllllon per monLh Lo an esLlmaLed Lhree mllllon.
20

We propose lmplemenLlng a slmllar fee aL Lhe SLudenL SLore, Creen Llne MarkeL and Lhe orLland SLaLe 8ooksLore.

Su8vL?
A survey was conducLed wlLh 100 sLudenLs as follows:
uo you use plasLlc bags from Lhe booksLore?_________
lf no, whaL do you use? 8ack pack, LoLe, arms, shoulder bag?_________(flnlshed)
lf yes, would you conLlnue Lo use Lhe bags lf you had Lo pay $0.03 for Lhem?________(conLlnue)
Pow many bags would you say you use per Lerm?________
WhaL do you do wlLh Lhe bags afLer you are done wlLh Lhem?
8euse for Lrash llner
1hrow away lnLo Lrash
LlLLer
CLher
8esulLs: (26,000 sLudenLs enrolled)
62 clalm Lo noL use bags (16,120 sLudenLs)
o 30 use backpacks
o 19 use LoLes
o 19 carry books and supplles
o 12 use shoulder bags
38 of sLudenLs aL Su use bags and wlLh an average of 2 bags per sLudenL used per Lerm (6 per year).
CalculaLed ouL, Lhls ls ln llne wlLh known usage. Cur survey numbers calculaLe ouL Lo approxlmaLely 39,280
bags per year used aL Lhe booksLore.
44 of sLudenLs could pay Lhe $0.03 and conLlnue Lo use Lhe bags

36 of sLudenLs clalm Lhey would dlsconLlnue Lhelr use whlch would decrease Lhe amounL of bags used
down Lo 26,083 bags per year.
ulsposal afLer use shows:
o 37 reuse as Lrash llner
o 31 Lhrow away
o 13 reuse for caL llLLer
o 13 reuse as bags
o 6 recycle
o 0 llLLer

CSSl8LL CPAnCLS lC8 Su Wl1P CPA8CL
8ased on Lhe survey, Lhe proposed fee would lead Lo a reducLlon of dlsposable bag usage down Lo approxlmaLely
26,000 per year.
1he fee would generaLe $1,300 dollars annually LhaL could go Lowards fundlng carbon savlng pro[ecLs
Carbon emlsslons from dlsposable bag usage from Lhese reLallers would drop by more Lhan half

A1P 1C lMLLMLn1A1lCn
1he SLudenL SLore ln SmlLh has a conLracL wlLh ASSu. ASSu negoLlaLes reLaller conLracLs every Lwo years and
could lmplemenL Lhe fee.
1he Creen Llne MarkeL could choose Lo lmplemenL Lhe fee lnLernally.
1he orLland SLaLe 8ooksLore ls a prlvaLe non-proflL. lL Loo could choose Lo lmplemenL Lhe fee lnLernally.




























1
ackaglng knowledge. 2009. hLLp://www.packaglngknowledge.com/plasLlc_bags.asp

2
8eusable 8ags. !"# %&'(#)*+ ,#-.#/# 01 2) 321. hLLp://www.reusablebags.com/facLs.php?ld=4

3
1hls ls Money. !"# 4.5# 678-# 25 9 :-9*1.8 ,9;< ually Mall: lebruary 27, 2008.
hLLp://www.Lhlslsmoney.co.uk/consumer/carlng/arLlcle.hLml?ln_arLlcle_ld=431217&ln_page_ld=311

4
hLLp://en.wlklpedla.org/wlkl/Llnear_low-denslLy_polyeLhylene

3
hLLp://en.wlklpedla.org/wlkl/low-denslLy_polyeLhylene

6
hLLp://en.wlklpedla.org/wlkl/hlgh-denslLy_polyeLhylene

7
hLLp://en.wlklpedla.org/wlkl/blodegradeable_plasLlc

8
nolan-l1u Ly LLd. ,.2=#;)9=9(-# :-9*1.8* > ?#/#-2@'#%1* 9%= A%/.)2%'#%19- 0'@981*< Lxcellas AusLralla: CcLober 2002.
hLLp://www.envlronmenL.gov.au/seLLlemenLs/ publlcaLlons/wasLe/degradables/blodegradable/chapLer1.hLml

9
SusLalnablllLy vlcLorla. 62'@9).*2% 25 AB.*1.%; 4.5# 678-# C%9-7*.* 25 D"2@@.%; ,9; 9-1#)%91./#*< 8eporL #1. age 10,11.
1able 3-2. Aprll 18, 2007

10
8eusable 8ags. E#878-.%; 69% F.B .1 E.;"1G hLLp://www.reusablebags.com/facLs.php?ld=3
11
nekLon 8oL. H"91 .* I?:AG Sonayl ve 1lcareL a.s. hLLp://www.nekLonboL.com/whaLls.hLm
12
LCM 8lofllms. hLLp://www.ecmblofllms.com
13
1rellls LarLh. hLLp://www.LrelllsearLh.com
14
8oplasL lndusLrles lnc. hLLp://www.roplasL.com
13
hLLp://www.carbonfund.org/slLe/pages/carbon_calculaLors/caLegory/AssumpLlons
16
1lme for Change. :-9*1.8 (9;* 9%= @-9*1.8 (211-#* > 6JK =&).%; -.5#1.'#. !uerg. hLLp://Llmeforchange.org/plasLlc-bags-and-
plasLlc-boLLles-co2-emlsslons

17,18
!ames, karll. , and CranL 1lm (2003). 8eLrleved May 31, 2010, from
hLLp://www.cfd.rmlL.edu.au/programs/llfe_cycle_assessmenL/lca_of_degradable_plasLlc_bags
19
1rellls LarLh (2010). SusLalnablllLy. 8eLrleved May 31, 2010, from
hLLp://www.LrelllsearLh.com/LCL/susLaln_lndex/lndex.hLm
20
Cralg, 1lm (2010). 8eLrleved May 30, 2010 ?<6< (9; 19B 82--#81* LMNOPOOO .% Q9%&9)7 52) )./#) 8-#9%&@
hLLp://www.washlngLonposL.com/wp-dyn/conLenL/arLlcle/2010/03/29/A82010032903336.hLml?sub=A8