5
Why is
this
important
to the
environment?
Landfills:
Despite
a desire
to
prevent
biological
activity
in
landfills,
it
happens.
This is
evidenced
by the
many
landfills
that
recover
(some of
the)
methane
gas that
is
produced.
A high
proportion
of
plastic
carrier
bags are
reused
to
contain
organic
waste.
These
are
placed
in
landfills
and the
waste
eventually
(over
many
years)
is
biodegraded
into
methane,
a
particularly
harmful
greenhouse
gas.
When oxo-biodegradable
bags are
used,
they
degrade
and
disintegrate
relatively
quickly
(over a
few
months)
and
allow
the
organic
waste
that
they
contain
to
biodegrade
near the
top of
the
landfill
where
there is
more
oxygen
available.
This
reduces
the rate
at which
valuable
landfill
space is
used up
and
leads to
the
formation
of
carbon
dioxide,
24 times
less
harmful
than
methane.