Paper or Plastic, Sir?

We have all faced that difficult choice at the grocery store checkout counter. Some of us may think, at once, that paper should be the more eco-friendly choice because isn't the whole world telling us to reduce plastic usage? Let us think again.

Where do paper bags come from? They come from many, many trees. Habitats are destroyed so that trees can be felled. Three tons of wood chips make only one ton of pulp! Paper making is an energy intensive process which involves washing and bleaching pulp, coloring, and mixing 400 parts of water with one part of pulp! Paper must then be shipped all over the world. Paper bags inked with soy or other vegetable based ingredients are best composted. Recycling is the other option, which involved re-pulping the paper and cleaning the fibers before they can be made into new paper.

What about plastic bags? Plastic bags are usually made from non-renewable sources such as oil, with the use of energy from coal. Although plastic bags can be recycled, the recycled product is usually of lesser quality.

If you really have to make that tough decision between paper and plastic, think about how you would use each bag. Paper bags typically hold one and a half times the amount a plastic bag can. And it can be reused a couple of times before it tears and has to be recycled or composted. Plastic bags, on the other hand, can be used numerous times before they make their way to the recycling bin outside the grocery stores.

The more paper bags that get recycled, the lower their overall environmental impact. However, because plastic bags use much less material and energy to produce, recycling them results in less waste.


So, what is an environmentally conscious person to do? Use a canvas bag, of course! They are durable, stylish, and can carry multiple times the amount of items a plastic or paper bag can.