Use it in eco-lessons. The mindblowing facts on PLASTIC.

Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1 million sea creatures every year. An estimated 14.000.000.000 pounds of trash, most of them are plastics is dumped in the world's oceans every year. Nearly every piece of plastic EVER made still exists today. It is more difficult to recycle plastics than other materials, because there are several different types. Each type needs to be recycled separately. Less than 1% of plastic bags are ever recycled. Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year. Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation. An average 323 plastic bags are taken into our homes every year and it takes 500 years to decay when sent to landfill. Plastic bags are produced from polymers derived from petroleum. The amount of petroleum used to make a plastic bag would drive a car about 11 metres. (source - CUA) Non woven Polypropylene (PP) has been developed in recent years as an environmentally friendly substitute for Nylon and Polyester which are known to be more damaging to the environment. Non woven PP is degradable (it breaks down into small pieces in the ground over time) and is fully recyclable. The production process is also relatively clean and although temperature control is used during production, there is no extensive use of chemicals and water as there is for cotton. Non woven PP material for bags is reusable so that the amount of plastic wastes from bags could be reduced. In comparison with PVC, PE and PP use fewer problematic additives, have reduced leaching potential in landfills, reduced potential for dioxin formation during burning, and reduced technical problems and costs during recycling. (source - Greenpeace International PVC Alternatives Database). Zero Waste South Australia produced a report stating that polypropylene has lower greenhouse gas impact and energy use in manufacture than either paper or calico (including production of raw materials).