the first plastic bag
The modern plastic shopping bag was created in the early 1960's by a Swedish engineer by the name of Sten Gustaf Thulin. He created these plastic bags for the packaging company Celloplast of Norrkoping, Sweden. Thulin's design produced a simple, strong bag with a high load-carrying capacity. Celloplast exposed these plastic bags worldwide in 1965.
Why have plastic bags become an issue?
Plastic bags become a big issue environmentally and economically in the last decade. This is because of the high demand for plastic bags. When plastic bags were first invented back in the 1960's the need of plastic bags was quite low but now in the 20th century with a much bigger population the need for plastic bags is much higher. When plastic bags were first invented the family sizes were smaller so the families could shop once a week instead of 2-3 times a week. This meant that less plastic bags were being used compared to now a days where families are shopping more freqeuntly meaning more plastic bags are being used. People are also eating a lot more than they used to so more groceries are needing to be purchased per person.