Cve80010 Principles Of Sustainability For Assessment Answers

Describe the Principles of Sustainability For Environmental Safety. 

Answer:

Nowadays, uses of plastic bags are increasing among the people day by day due to their multi-purpose and multi-user nature. This utilization is affecting the environment in different ways like air pollution, water pollution, sand contamination, etc. The present study is regarding the campaign for resolving the issue relating to the use of plastic bags. It will include background information, goals and objectives of the campaign, strategy development, environmental policies, implementation plan and outcome in the end.

Background to the Issues

Use of plastic bags is quite devastating with respect to the environmental safety and security.

According to the Sharma and et al., 2014, The plastic bags get into the soil and release the toxic chemicals with the unfortunate results being that animals eat them and die. Along with this, plastic bags are polluting oceans by killing sea turtles, jellyfish, and many others. Pieces of plastic sheets, bottles of different sizes and colors used to found flying around freely in the streets and causes a serious environmental problem. The study suggested that cheap cost and easy availability of the plastic bags make individuals use them more for daily purpose.

Similarly, Pérez and et al., 2014., have stated that plastic bags are causing problems for agriculture, tourism as it needs the high cost of cleanup in which both local and national government used to fail. Plastic grocery bags clog the sewer pipes and create stagnant water which results to produce novel habitat for the mosquitoes and other parasites which causes a significant number of health problems like malaria, dengue, encephalitis, etc. From an analysis, it has been found that around 7 billion plastic bags are used by Australia every year. The study shows that plastics are formed for packaging of items such as food, detergents, cosmetics, food, pharmaceuticals, public health products and much more. With respect to Australia approximate 1 million tones of plastic materials are produced annually, and 587,000 tones are imported to other countries. Along with this, 100kg of plastic is being used by every person annually in European nations. In Israel, each uses an average number of 300 bags per year. These facts and figures show usability of the plastic in all over the world. Increasing use of plastic bags is enhancing environmental problems.

As per the research of Chiew and et al., 2015, plastic bags impact directly and indirectly on the environment of the earth. Direct impact includes physical harm by the marine debris by ingestion or entanglement whereas indirect effect consists of marine debris cleanup which consequences in ecological changes. The study gives more emphasis to the marine life effect through plastic bags or bottles throwing by people nearby sea. The investigation represents that out of 38 green turtles 61 percent had ingested some marine debris which consists of plastic bags, cloth, and rope. Consumption of such type of food results to cause internal injuries and infections in the bodies of marine animals. On the other hand, investigation stated that entanglement can tend to starvation, drowning, suffocation and enhances vulnerability to predators. The research also demonstrated that it is quite harmful to the ecosystem to remove marine debris from the oceans or beaches. Tractor and other mechanical devices are being used by the government of the countries for removing marine debris which results to impact shoreline habitat negatively.

Green and et al., 2015, have found that government of the countries passes out many orders for banning shopkeepers from offering products in plastic bags to the clients. But easy availability, stable, lightweight, low price and hygienic features of the plastic bags make individuals to use them in daily routine. People are continuously using plastic bottles or bags even after knowing that they are the reason behind causing pollution, killing wildlife and using up valuable resources of the planet. In US approximate 100 billion plastic bags are being used annually. The author represents that petroleum is used for producing plastic bags. Thus increasing the necessity of bags is leading to getting petroleum products more expensive day by day. Around 60-100 million of barrels of the petroleum oil us required annually worldwide. This valuable and precious natural resource should not be wasted on producing such harmful products. Apart from this, the investigation also says that plastic bags litter the environment and after that find their way into our waterways, parks, streets, oceans, beaches and much more. Air pollution is also caused by burning plastic bags as it infuses the air with toxic fumes.

Thus the primary objective of this research is to decrease the impact of plastic bags on the environment of the Earth. It is important to identify necessary solutions for handling the above-described issues which are causing by increasing usability of plastic. 

Identifying the Problems the Campaign Aims to Address

The campaign seeks to address the issues regarding environmental pollution resulting from plastic bags. The problems which will be highlighted in the research are related to water contamination, marine life, health problems, air pollution and land contamination. The present study will lead to identifying appropriate strategies for handling the impact of plastic bags on the environment of the Earth. The campaign helps in cleaning the nation by decreasing use of plastic bags and recycling used plastics for accomplishing its objectives effectively and efficiently (Oatley, Blencowe and Lawn, 2016).

The purpose the campaign to stop the use of plastic bags is to identify an appropriate strategy for resolving the issue and preventing environmental pollution. The Proper approach will encourage people to replace their plastic bags with something beneficial. This program will seek out the problems occurring due to increasing use of plastic for maintaining the environmental sustainability.

Goals and Objective :

The goals and purpose of this research are as follows:

Objective: To identify impact of using plastic bags on environment

Aims:

• To understand the use of plastic bags in surrounding
• To analyze the impact of plastic bags on environment
• To recommend appropriate strategies for handling the impact of using plastic bags on the environment.

Establishment of Credibility of Compaign

The campaign with respect to saying no to plastic bags will lead to providing various benefits to the environment and living beings of the Australia. According to the Sadiq and Khattak, 2015, a ban on plastic bags will result in reducing waste or pollution at streets, water and air. The study says that it is necessary to stop using the plastic bags as it also affects the health of human beings and animals as well. With respect to this, the campaign will lead to improving the sanitary conditions of the people and will prevent marine animals, cow, and buffalos from death. Similarly Center, 2013, has stated that “Replacement of plastic bags from the degradable plastics lead to reduce the waste and do not contribute to toxic emissions or leaching. This helps in decreasing the pollution of the countries and improves the environmental conditions”. About this, the campaign will promote the use of degradable plastics which will tend to decompose by the actions of bacteria. This will result to help in increasing fossil fuels, pesticides, fertilizers, diesel, etc. and will improve the condition of land and soil. In addition to it, composting of food scraps, yard trimmings and wet, the non-recyclable paper will be one of the effective strategies for recovering the wide range of waste and will enhance the recycling goals of the people. Non-recyclable paper or plastic will be replaced by biodegradable plastics which will reduce the quantity of solid waste. 

On the other hand Trilling, 2016 has focused on marine animals and stated that ban of plastic bags would decrease the death rate of marine animals like Jelly Fish, Turtle, etc. The campaign will influence people to stop using plastic bags at beaches, near oceans, or rivers which will lead to decrease the collection of plastic garbage beachside and this will prevent water pollution. In a row with these studies Jalil, Mian and Rahman, 2013, have demonstrated that “It is necessary to educate and aware people about the impact of plastic use over the environment for handling the issues effectively and efficiently.” In context to this, the campaign will inform people of Australia about the harmful effects of plastic use. This will consist of different educational programs, training sessions, etc. to the individuals for increasing awareness among them regarding the use of degradable plastic bags instead of non-recyclable plastic bags.

According to Poortinga, Whitmarsh and Suffolk, 2013, “Stores can save a significant amount of money by encouraging people to bring their bags along with removing the need to provide free plastic bags. This will promote the use of reusable bags among the customers” In aspect to this, the campaign will support shopping stores to increase use of paper or reusable bags instead of plastic bags for reducing the impact on the health of the individuals. As per a study, around 400 plastic bags were collected during the one-day beach clean-up of Evanston and Lake Michigan.  This represents that plastic bags are strongly impacting on the local environment of the nations. By educating people and giving those rewards for recycling plastic grocery bags can improve the present situation. Strict ban on the grocery bags will lead to promote the use of paper bags among the clients.

Thus, the campaign will lead to improving the present condition of the affecting environment. Reduction in use of plastic bags will increase the use of paper, degradable or reusable bags for shopping and other daily routine works. This campaign will help in cleaning the country and improving its environment effectively and efficiently.

Analysing the Policy Environment 

The campaign will promote proper and efficient policies and procedures for banning the use of plastic bags in Australia. These systems are explained below:

To ban Single-use plastic shopping bags

According to the Pankaj, 2015, “Use of plastic bags results to litter the environment, harm the wildlife, affect the health of individuals and needs valuable resources for manufacturing. Elimination of plastic bags requires proper development and implementation of the policies and procedures”. With respect to this, countries like South Australia, Northern Territory, and Tasmania are banning single-use plastic shopping bags. Other countries are also following this policy for reducing the use of plastic bags. This system has reduced the use of plastic bags and encouraged shoppers to use their reusable bags. By implanting this policy, other nations will also be able to lessen the volume of plastic bag waste. From the research in 2012 and 2014, it has been found that 65% of the Canberra grocery shoppers have supported the policy and improving the environmental situation and accepted that the ac. It has brought positive impact on the environment of the country (Ban the bag. 2017).

Coastal Cleanup Policy:

As per the Rochman and et al., 2013, “Plastic bags are increasing the beach pollution, and for handling it, this is essential to implement appropriate policy. Polystyrene is the common form of plastic which is enhancing pollution at the beaches worldwide” In context to it, by developing a policy regarding the coastal cleanup, the campaign will able to reduce the beach pollution by reducing the usability of polystyrene. Under this policy, the campaign will able to increase awareness among the people for keeping beaches, seaside, and riverside neat and clean. This policy will also lead to improving the marine life by reducing their number of deaths caused due to consumption of plastic bags or related products.

Policy related to increasing awareness:

Newman, 2014, has found that “A public education policy targeted particularly consumers of plastic bags will reduce the quantity of disposable bags which are being demanded by them.” Under this policy, the campaign will include public awareness about the cost of plastic bags, their impact on the environment and their health. This will also lead to promote utilization of the reusable or paper bags among the people. For providing better information and enhancing sufficient awareness among the individuals, some components such as the distribution of posters, development, and airing of the public service announcement, production and distribution of educational mailer, etc. will work appropriately.

Development of the Strategy 

The campaign will have to develop an effective strategy for improving the environmental conditions by reducing the use of plastic bags. For developing an effective strategy, the campaign will have to consider the following steps properly:

Creation of Mission, Vision and Value Statements: In this step, the mission of the campaign will stop usability of plastic bags in Australia. Along with this, vision will be as follows:

• To maintain environmental sustainability
• To aware public about the impact of plastic bags on the environment.
• To ban plastic bags and promote reusable bags like paper bags

Value Statement of the campaign will be: With courage and love-we clinch our duty for creating a safe and secure environment where everyone can live a better and healthy life (Ohtomo and Ohnuma, 2014).

Defining and decomposing the strategic goals: In this step, the campaign will include those goals which are important to accomplish for fulfilling the vision. This will consist of promoting the use of reusable bags, conducting various educational programs and analyzing the individual’s perception regarding the use of plastic bags. This will help in better decision making for selection of appropriate strategies.

Strategy Analysis: In this, proper analysis with respect to the internal and external environment will be conducted. This study will lead to understanding the current and accurate situation correctly regarding the use of plastic bags and their impact on the environment. External Analysis will include research with respect to the policies, rules, and regulations for stopping the use of plastic bags. This will also provide exact facts and figures about environmental issues like water pollution, climate change, soil degradation, air pollution, etc. On the other hand, the internal analysis will help in knowing about views of people regarding the use of plastic bags along with socio-cultural issues (Xing and Qing, 2015).

Strategy Formulation: After proper analysis, it is important to select appropriate and effective strategies for achieving the vision and mission both efficiently. The campaign will choose plans like the adoption of reusable bags, voluntary reduction programs, retail bag product stewardship initiative, Bag fees at the checkout and  Bag Taxes legislated by the government. One of the best strategies for the current campaign is the adoption of reusable bags. This strategy will help in maintaining the sustainability of the environment by reducing the wastage and pollution (Mutungi and Murdock, 2015).

Implementation of the Plan 

The above-developed strategy will help in effective implementation of the program in Australia. The strategy of adoption of reusable bags will lead to reducing the use of plastic bags along with their wastage and impact over the environment. Implementation of the plan will take place in the following steps:

Align the initiatives: This step will include all those initiatives for which campaign is being conducted, i.e., to stop the use of plastic bags in Australia. Alignment of initiatives like maintaining sustainability, enhancing the use of paper bags, educating people, etc. will help in the proper implementation of the campaign (Green and Thompson, 2015).

Align Budgets and Performance: This will include proper analysis of the budget concerning to the selected strategy for better implementation of the campaign. By analyzing every process accurately, the budget will be evaluated as per the strategy of adoption of reusable bags. Along with this, the performance of the campaign needs to be aligned closely with the selected strategy. All the individuals involved in the campaign have to perform well as per the strategic goals and objectives.

Engagement of the people: It is necessary to engage all those individuals who are involved in the implementation of the campaign. This step will include better communication, teamwork, time management, cooperation, etc. for accomplishing the primary objective of the campaign. Management of workforce will lead to effective implementation of the program for reducing the use of plastic bags and maintaining the sustainability of the environment (Alaimo, 2014).

Execution and monitor: In the end, a selected strategy like promoting the use of reusable bags for banning plastic bags in Australia will be implemented. This plan will lead to encouraging people to bring their bags and make shopping centers to stop using plastic bags. Along with this, all the processes with respect to the campaign will be monitored appropriately and efficiently for handling any issue and improving that. Proper monitoring will also help in the development of effective strategies and implementation plan for future campaigns.

Critical Discussion of the Campaign Outcomes

The above strategy of adopting reusable bags for stopping the use of plastic bags in Australia will lead to improving the environmental conditions. With respect to the campaign, use of reusable bags as an alternative to plastic shopping bags will be an effective strategy. This will help in changing the consumer behavior regarding the use of plastic bags while shopping or daily routine work. By distributing reusable bags free of charge and promoting them as Green among the public of nation, the campaign will be successful in accomplishing its objectives (Wagner, 2017).

On the other hand, it will be difficult to change the habit of people for using lightweight plastic bags. Customers will not use the same reusable bag every time they shop due to their habit of forgetting the bag. It is necessary to use reusable bags multiple times for delivering the same environmental benefits, and in contrast to it, generally, people like to use and through bags.  In addition to it, reusable bags are pet waste, and people do not like to keep them at home. Similarly, reusable bags are designed to meet only one purpose, i.e., as a carry bag whereas plastic bags are multi-purpose and multi-use bags. One can use them as both carry bag and to manage other household things like a waste (How Do Plastic Bags Affect Our Environment?. 2012).

Thus, the outcome of the campaign will be in both negative and positive aspect. But for gaining positive results, it is necessary for the campaign to run and work for longer period.  

Conclusion

Therefore, it is concluded from the above analysis that plastic bags are nastily affecting the environment. Different researchers have found that plastic bags are causing air, water, and soil pollution. For resolving this issue, the campaign needs to follow the strategy of adopting reusable bags at the place of plastic bags. It is quite difficult to change the behavior of the people for using plastic bags but it is not impossible, and the campaign can do this by educating and increasing awareness among them regarding the use of reusable bags.  

References

Alaimo, S., 2014. 12 Oceanic Origins, Plastic Activism, and New Materialism at Sea.

Center, E., 2013. Plastic bag bans: analysis of economic and environmental impacts. Reporte. San Diego, California.

Chiew, Y.L., Spångberg, J., Baky, A., Hansson, P.A. and Jönsson, H., 2015. Environmental impact of recycling digested food waste as a fertilizer in agriculture—A case study. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 95, pp.1-14.

Green, D.S., Boots, B., Blockley, D.J., Rocha, C. and Thompson, R., 2015. Impacts of discarded plastic bags on marine assemblages and ecosystem functioning. Environmental science & technology, 49(9), pp.5380-5389.

Green, D.S., Boots, B., Blockley, D.J., Rocha, C. and Thompson, R., 2015. Impacts of discarded plastic bags on marine assemblages and ecosystem functioning. Environmental science & technology, 49(9), pp.5380-5389.

Jalil, M.A., Mian, M.N. and Rahman, M.K., 2013. Using plastic bags and its damaging impact on environment and agriculture: An alternative proposal. International Journal of Learning and Development, 3(4), pp.1-14.

Jalil, M.A., Mian, M.N. and Rahman, M.K., 2013. Using plastic bags and its damaging impact on environment and agriculture: An alternative proposal. International Journal of Learning and Development, 3(4), pp.1-14.

Li, W.C., Tse, H.F. and Fok, L., 2016. Plastic waste in the marine environment: A review of sources, occurrence and effects. Science of the Total Environment, 566, pp.333-349.

Mutungi, C., Affognon, H.D., Njoroge, A.W., Manono, J., Baributsa, D. and Murdock, L.L., 2015. Triple-layer plastic bags protect dry common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) against damage by Acanthoscelides obtectus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) during storage. Journal of economic entomology, 108(5), pp.2479-2488.

Newman, P., 2014. Plastic, Ahoy!: Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Millbrook Press.

Oatley, H.K., Blencowe, H. and Lawn, J.E., 2016. The effect of coverings, including plastic bags and wraps, on mortality and morbidity in preterm and full-term neonates. Journal of perinatology, 36(Suppl 1), p.S83.

Ohtomo, S. and Ohnuma, S., 2014. Psychological interventional approach for reduce resource consumption: Reducing plastic bag usage at supermarkets. Resources, Conservation, and recycling, 84, pp.57-65.

Pankaj, V.P., 2015. Sustainable model of Plastic waste management. International Journal of ChemTech Research, 7(01), pp.440-458.

Pérez, I., Garfí, M., Cadena, E. and Ferrer, I., 2014. Technical, economic and environmental assessment of household biogas digesters for rural communities. Renewable energy, 62, pp.313-318.

Poortinga, W., Whitmarsh, L. and Suffolk, C., 2013. The introduction of a single-use carrier bag charge in Wales: Attitude change and behavioral spillover effects. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 36, pp.240-247.

Rochman, C.M., Browne, M.A., Halpern, B.S., Hentschel, B.T., Hoh, E., Karapanagioti, H.K., Rios-Mendoza, L.M., Takada, H., Teh, S. and Thompson, R.C., 2013. Policy: Classify plastic waste as hazardous. Nature, 494(7436), pp.169-171.

Sadiq, M.M., and Khattak, M.R., 2015. Literature review on different plastic waste materials uses in concrete. Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research, 2(6), pp.1-4.

Sharma, B.K., Moser, B.R., Vermillion, K.E., Doll, K.M. and Rajagopalan, N., 2014. Production, characterization and fuel properties of alternative diesel fuel from pyrolysis of waste plastic grocery bags. Fuel Processing Technology, 122, pp.79-90.

Xing, A., Lai, E., Jin, J., Choi, M. and Qing, W., 2015. Effects of visual prompts on coffee cup and plastic bag disposal: research project final report.

Online

Ban the bag. 2017. [Online]. Available Through: < https://act.greenpeace.org.au/efforts/ban-the-bag-1 >. [Accessed on 19^th September 2017]

How Do Plastic Bags Affect Our Environment?. 2012. [Online]. Available Through :< https://greenerideal.com/news/environment/0613-how-do-plastic-bags-affect-our-environment/ >. [Accessed on 19^th September 2017]

Trilling, D., 2016. The good and the bad of plastic bag bans: Research Review. [Online]. Available Through: < https://journalistsresource.org/studies/environment/pollution-environment/plastic-bag-bans-grocery-shopping-environment >. [Accessed on 19^th September 2017]

Wagner, J., 2017. The Effects of Plastic Bags on Environment. [Online]. Available Through: < https://www.healthguidance.org/entry/14901/1/The-Effects-of-Plastic-Bags-on-Environment.html >. [Accessed on 19^th September 2017]