Question

Explain how polybags thrown here and there carelessly are responsible for the deaths of animals, especially cows?

Answer 1

Hint: To give the reason behind how polybags are harmful for animals and even causes their death, we need to look for the means by which animals come in contact with these plastics.

Complete Step by step answer:
Over the years the use of polybags has increased which imposes a major threat to the environment as well as living beings. The threat to living beings is not only confined to a single type of organism, in fact it is harmful to humans, land animals, marine life and even birds. The plastic bags used by us are dumped in garbage pits, seas and oceans or even in open areas where animals such as cows may reach in search of food. Cows that live in rural areas obtain their food from crops, grass fields and plants and are at lower risk due to the availability of food. But cows that live in urban areas do not find as much greenery and in search of food they often find their way to garbage dumps. While searching for food, animals consume the plastic waste which goes into their digestive system. The small fragments of plastic also get stuck in their gut which causes difficulty in breathing and swallowing food and water; eventually leading the animals to death. The plastic that reaches their intestine is not digested and excreted out, which causes toxicity in their bodies proving to be fatal. The plastic bags or wrappers that we throw here and there are also consumed by these animals and lead them to painful death.

Note: Poly Bags are made up of polymers known as polyethylene. These are used for various purposes such as, packaging, transporting different materials and products, etc. They are non-biodegradable and take over one thousand years to decompose, even then they do not decompose completely. We should switch to biodegradable alternatives of plastic bags, such as, jute bags, paper bags, cloth bags, etc.