A study undertaken by the Technological Research Institute of São Paulo (IPT) will assess the impacts of plastic bags on a typically Brazilian environment. The statistics currently used in the country to measure these impacts come from foreign research. The tests, which simulate the conditions of the disposal of 40 bags of four different types in an urban setting, began in October and will last one year. The results will make it possible to compare processes of degradation.

The bags used in the research are made from common polyethylene (traditional plastic bags), polyethylene with additives to promote biodegradation, paper, and polypropylene (non-woven fabric returnable bags).

"This work can serve as the foundation for more in-depth research. Today we use data from experiments conducted in Europe, which may not accurately reflect the conditions in Brazil and could thus lead to erroneous conclusions," IPT researcher Mara Lúcia Siqueira Dantas told Tierramérica.