Lots of the bags are bio-degradable, so they will eventually, in some unit of months or years, break down.
Of course, its the same issue as chucking a banana peel. It fucks with the local environment and will take a long time to be “gone” if you just throw it into a forest and walk away. Enough people do that, and eventually you have a trail covered in shit and bananas.
Important point: “Biodegradable” plastic doesn’t biodegrade in the same way as something like a banana. It disinitegrates to the point that it is invisible to humans, but it introduces microplastics into the environment.
Lots of the bags are bio-degradable, so they will eventually, in some unit of months or years, break down.
Of course, its the same issue as chucking a banana peel. It fucks with the local environment and will take a long time to be “gone” if you just throw it into a forest and walk away. Enough people do that, and eventually you have a trail covered in shit and bananas.
Important point: “Biodegradable” plastic doesn’t biodegrade in the same way as something like a banana. It disinitegrates to the point that it is invisible to humans, but it introduces microplastics into the environment.
I think there are cellulose based bags that are basically “plant plastic” that do finally break down, but its over the course of years.