Plastic Shopping Bags Contribute to Land and Sea Pollution

Lilie King
Written by Lilie

7.5 in Academic Writing

July 8, 2021

Some people think that plastic shopping bags should be banned because they contribute to land and sea pollution. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

This is a reported IELTS Writing Task 2 question. Click here to see more reported questions.

Sample Essay

Some people argue that there should be a ban on plastic shopping bags because they pollute the land and the sea. I completely agree with this point of view because most of them are sent to landfill sites after being discarded and many find their way to the oceans.

The majority of plastic shopping bags end up being landfilled. If there is no ban on plastic bags, most people will continue to use them when they shop since this is more convenient than bringing their own bags. However, plastic bags are difficult and expensive to recycle. Consequently, after they have been thrown away, most of them are sent to landfill sites. As they sit there, they break down into tiny particles, which then enter the soil and food chain.

In addition, plastic shopping bags can always find their way to the sea. The ones discarded on the beach may be blown into the sea. Even those thrown on the streets and sitting on landfill sites may be blown into gutters and discharged with sewage into rivers, and then reach the sea. Since plastic bags take hundreds of years to decompose, they become deadly waste in the oceans. For example, sea turtles that have ingested plastic bags can die from starvation. They may mistakenly believe that they have eaten enough because their stomachs are full.

In conclusion, most plastic bags are dumped in landfill sites after they have been used and many end up in the oceans. This damages the land and the sea and therefore I strongly believe that their use should not be allowed.

265 Words

How to  Paraphrase “Ban”

  • Use it as a noun: a ban on something
  • Use it as a verb: be banned
  • Be prohibited
  • Not be allowed
  • Be made illegal
  • Be outlawed
“Illegal” and “outlawed” do not mean exactly the same as ‘banned’:
  • banned = against the law or other regulations
  • illegal/outlawed = against the law

3-Day Writing Task 2 Challenge

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