Plastic bag

This article is about a type of packaging. For the short film, see Plastic Bag (film). For the song, see Plastic Bag (Drake and Future song).

A plastic bag used to collect waste on a street in Paris

A plastic bag, poly bag, or pouch is a type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, powders, ice, magazines, chemicals, and waste. It is a common form of packaging.

Most plastic bags are heat sealed at the seams, while some are bonded with adhesives or are stitched.

Many countries are introducing legislation to phase out lightweight plastic bags, because plastic never fully breaks down, causing everlasting pollution of plastics and environmental impacts. Every year, about 1 to 5 trillion plastic bags are used and discarded around the world. From point of sale to destination, plastic bags have a lifetime of 12 minutes. Approximately 320 bags per capita were used in 2014 in the United States of America.[1]

  1. ^ Wagner, Travis P. (1 December 2017). "Reducing single-use plastic shopping bags in the USA". Waste Management. 70: 3–12. Bibcode:2017WaMan..70....3W. doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2017.09.003. ISSN 0956-053X. PMID 28935376.