Should plastic bags really be banned in Jamaica? While everyone in America is waiting on the next step in aiding to “Save The World,” Jamaica is actually trying to save the world, one step at a time. And what are they doing? They are saving the ecosystem by banning plastic bags. Or are they? Some people can think that the ban isn’t implemented because the bags don’t do anything like cause floods or create breeding grounds for mosquitoes. I think that they put a ban on plastic bags in Jamaica because if they didn’t then the ecosystem would die and their resources would die too. Also, if they didn’t ban plastic bags, then the chemicals that their livestock eat would have a chance of developing a disease. So if a chicken has a disease caused by that chicken eating plastic, and someone eats the same chicken, they would catch the same disease that could be potentially dangerous. One last thing is that the plastic could be breeding grounds for mosquitoes and can increase malaria and dengue counts which in some cases, can be fatal.

Plastic Bags can harm the ecosystem. In the article, “How Jamaica is taking aim to remove plastic bags,” the article says, “According to the United Nations, the world consumes each year up to 5 trillion plastic bags made from a petroleum-based project that takes 500 years to degrade.” (Chappell 2018) This shows that because of how long plastic takes in order to be fully decomposed, the plastic would have killed a lot of wildlife before it fully decomposed. Another reason is that in my second article, “Why Ban Plastic Bags?” the article says, “It was also discovered that improper disposal of plastic bags increases the incidence of mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika, dengue, and malaria, maladies which not only cause significant morbidity but can also be fatal.” This shows that mosquito-borne diseases would spread a significant amount before the plastic starts breaking down.

Plastic bags can also cause mosquito-borne diseases that are either uncurable, or no one has even heard of. I know this because in the article, “Why Ban Plastic Bags?” the article says that “Discarded plastic bags contribute to the problem by blocking drains and waterways, causing damage to the environment and creating severe safety hazards.” This proves that when people drop plastic bags, they clog the drains and cause floods. Another reason is that in the article, “Why Ban Plastic Bags?” the article says  “When plastic bags are left lying around, even when not blocking drains, water can settle in or on them, providing micro breeding grounds for the pests.” This shows how plastic bags can produce breeding grounds for mosquitoes and cause these diseases to spread. In the interview, I conducted it was stated that when the plastic bags were burnt it would cause air pollution which in turn could affect the ozone layer and also affects children who have asthma and other underlining sicknesses. It was also revealed that sometime farmers buys chemical in bottles but don’t dispose of the bottles properly so while these bottles take so long to decompose the chemicals gets washed out when it rains and washes these chemicals back into our water source and our beaches. 

Plastic bags also harms wildlife. I know this because in the article, “Plastic vs. Paper,” the article says that “The ban resulted in a 90% decline in the use of plastic bags.” this shows that this is useful. Also, in the article, “The huge mass of plastic waste floating in the Caribbean,” the article says, “People think that if they throw out their trash, it will go to a better place. It actually ends up in the ocean where sea animals like turtles and fish get contaminated and die.” This shows that if this ban doesn’t get implemented, then wildlife will die and the entire food chain will collapse. Also, in “The huge mass of plastic waste floating in the Caribbean,” the article says, “Trash lines that lined up to about 30 miles wide and looks like trash islands.” This proves that the trash is causing these disgusting trash islands that will harm aquatic and land animals. In the Caribbean, a lot of fishermen depends on fishes as a means of the source to support their families so in a case where pollution of plastic bags has diminished our aquatic animals then these fishermen are at a loss and have to find other ways and means to support their families.

I think that the ban was implemented because if it wasn’t, then this world will suffer faster than it should, people would have to be wearing gas masks because of how polluted the air is, and overall, we just have to do better than this. It can harm the ecosystem, it can cause mosquito-borne diseases, and it can harm wildlife. If only we could have found a better way to dispose of our trash then we would not be trying so hard to save our aquatic animals or our wildlife not to mention humans. Air is so precious to both humans and animals why can’t we just dispose of it properly. Banning plastic bags in Jamaica will help to save the world we need to see change and if this is what it takes for us to have a clean environment then I think Jamaica is heading in the right direction of banning plastic bags. What do you think? Do you think that Jamaica implemented the ban and is contributing to saving the world? Or do you think that Jamaica is doing nothing and is unaware of the consequences? The choice is yours.