World Paper Bag Day: Shun Polythene & Switch Over To Protect Environment

Good things are happening in India as shops are moving towards a polythene-free regime. Switching to alternate bags is also adding value to the products as they get further used.

We must keep talking about this change so that polythene is used less and less in our day-to-day life and our city is transformed.

July 12 is celebrated as World Paper Bag Day across the world, though some countries mark it on other dates. Spreading awareness about the negative effects of plastic bags is the primary aim. Encouraging more people to use biodegradable, eco-friendly paper bags is what is recommended.

It’s not known when World Paper Bag Day was first celebrated or who started it.

Some believe that American inventor Francis Wolle designed the first paper bag machine in 1852.

According to another school of thought, it was this day (July 12) in 1859 that American William Goodale received a patent for his paper bag machine.

Margaret E. Knight established another advanced machine, that can manufacture flat-bottom paper bags, in 1871. She became famous and earned the title of ‘mother of the grocery bag’.

In 1883, Charles Stillwell twisted Knight’s design by adding pleated sides to the paper bag in order to make it easier to carry, fold and store.

Moving forward, in 1912, Walter Deubener added a cord to reinforce the paper bags with handles for ease of carrying.

Basically, paper bags are made from virgin pulp extracted from trees. Bags are also made of recycled paper which is collected and processed in a recycling paper mill. Use of paper bags is undoubtedly an important step towards saving our planet because they are biodegradable.

So what’s cooking on World Paper Bag Day 2022?

Well, the day is marked to raise awareness about the need for use of paper bags. People are encouraged to use paper bags instead of plastic bags. Paper bags are eco-friendly, biodegradable and easily recyclable.

The day highlights hazardous impacts of plastic bags on the environment. Plastic takes many years to decompose. When plastic perishes under sunlight or it is burned, toxic substances are released into the soil which causes air pollution.

Plastic bags are very useful in our day-to-day lives as we carry essentials and many other things. But after use, we carelessly throw them. This is the most common way of plastic bags creating a threat to the environment.

Plastic bags kill approximately 100,000 animals annually, including whales, dolphins, turtles, penguins, etc. It is imperative that we switch to paper bags.

Use of paper bags will help protect the environment from pollution because it is biodegradable and recyclable. Paper Bag Day is an occasion to acknowledge paper bags.

Switch to paper bag or be ready to catch polythene instead of fish for your cooking.