Paper or Plastic?
Posted by lthreatt on September 24, 2006
At the grocery store, everyone is always confronted with the dilemma of choosing paper or plastic bags. Most people consider paper bags more environmentally friendly because compared to plastic bags, a larger percent can be recycled. The negative of paper bags is that it requires the cutting down of millions of trees per year. By depleting the forests, we are removing a natural source of oxygen and carbon dioxide control. When producing paper bags they use about 1917 BTUs per ounce more energy than plastic bag production. And according to reusablebags.com, the chemicals used in paper mills release 70% more air pollution and 50 times more water pollution than plastic bag factories. After the bags are produced and used, the question goes to what effect does they have afterwards. If recycled it takes about 17 BTUs per ounce to recycle plastic bags and 1444 BTUs per ounce to recycle paper bags. However 10-15% of paper bags can be recycled, were as only 1-3% of plastic bags can be recycled. Comparing paper bags and plastic bags, which one would be more environmentally efficient? I’d say plastic bags.
Statistics are from reusablebags.com
mikeporter said
Very interesting. People seem to jump so quickly to something that they’re told is a total solution. What is simply a positive-looking theory one day can become the fashionable enviro-accessory the next. It seems that people want so much to believe that they’re doing something productively beneficial for the environment when they do such things as use paper over plastic. We’re always looking for a quick fix to our problems. Something simple that’s going to create huge benefits for the earth, and do equally great things for our own feeling of self-satisfaction. We should really do more research into the things we think are doing so much, before we throw so much faith in them.
I think it’s funny how most people know that a canvas-type bag is much more beneficial than either paper or plastic, but that so few people use one. It has such a “yuppie-tofu-eating-hippie” stigma attached to it. Sort of ironic.
The word “recyclable” might be too magical for human ears to handle.