Plastic versus Paper; Oil versus Wood
There are always at least two sides to an argument. Some people point out that paper carrier bags cost more environmentally than you first think. There is the extra energy and chemicals needed to turn wood pulp into paper, then the manufacturing of the bag, and then the transport from areas of high timber production. So, some people point out that if an ordinary plastic carrier is used just once, a customer will need to reuse a paper carrier bag twice just to equal the environmental cost of the plastic bag.
BUT, paper is a sustainable product. Using up oil on a product like a plastic carrier bag that is not biodegradable and is, in the vast majority of cases, only used once, is a waste of a valuable resource. Wood pulp, on the other hand, comes from soft-wood forests, which, properly managed, are both sustainable and carbon neutral. Wood pulp for paper manufacture does not come from hardwood forests, so does not involve any loss of rain forests or ancient woodlands.
Reusing Paper Carrier Bags
Did we mention that there are always at least two sides to an argument. We know that some people point out that a paper carrier bag needs to be reused twice to match the environmental production costs of a plastic carrier bag. And, of course, if the ordinary plastic carrier bag is reused just once, the paper carrier bag needs to be used four times.
BUT, how often are plastic carrier bags re-used? In the USA, paper carrier bags used to be the norm. Compared to Europe, Americans used more paper bags and fewer plastic bags per person. But over the past twenty years, the plastic carrier bag has overtaken the paper bag. By 2010 80% of the grocery bags used in the US were plastic carrier bags. As some people point out, many of these are reused once – 65% of plastic bags in America get reused for trash. BUT those bags get just that one extra use and they, along with the trash inside, still end up in land-fill or being incinerated.A quality, customised paper carrier bag is far more likely to be reused more than once than a flimsy plastic carrier bag. Research in Ireland found that even many of the heavy-duty plastic ‘Bags For Life’ are never reused, and, of course, they take more energy to produce.
Recycling Paper Carrier Bags
Believe it or not, there are always at least two sides to an argument. Some people point out that not all paper carrier bags are recycled, even where paper-banks, taking card and kraft paper, are available.
BUT only a small percentage of plastic bags get recycled. In the US in 2010 only 5% of ordinary plastic carrier bags were recycled. Whereas 21% of kraft paper carrier bags were recycled. Latest figures in Britain show that though 60% of supermarket outlets now have a plastic bag recycling point, the number of plastic carrier bags used, though well down on the high point of 2006, actually went up by 1.3% between 2011 and 2012.
Paper Carrier Bags Are Biodegadable
As you know by now by now, there are always at least two sides to an argument. Some people point out that in a heavily compacted landfill site under anaerobic conditions (no oxygen) paper bags are no more likely to biodegrade than are most plastics. The majority of fungi and bacteria that are needed to break down cellulose in paper cannot survive such conditions.
BUT not only are not all land-fill sites so heavily compacted, but, unfortunately, many plastic carrier bags never reach the bin. A plastic carrier bag blowing around down a street, littering waste ground or flying high in a tree is not going to rot away. Ideally no paper carrier bag would be left as litter, but at least those that do will biodegrade.
Plastic Carrier Bags versus Paper Carrier Bags – The Sea, The Sea
Well, of course, there are always at least two sides to an argument.
BUT when it comes to the problem of pollution at sea, most people agree that plastic carrier bags are a blessed nuisance. Even before they get to the sea, plastic carrier bags block drains and sewers. This was one of the reasons why the Chinese government passed a law in 2008 banning the use of ordinary plastic bags by shops. China’s huge cities were literally having their effluent pipes blocked by plastic bags, at huge environmental and economic cost.
AND once the plastic bags do reach the sea, they are a threat to marine life everywhere. One survey in the USA estimated that an area of the Pacific the size of Texas was now covered in plastic debris, most of it plastic bags. In 2011 a survey by the Italian government found that 70% of the plastic waste off its shores came from plastic bags. Not surprisingly, Italy is now moving towards a total ban on all but essential plastic carrier bags.
Worse still, the amount and number of plastic bags in the sea is increasing every year – the ones already there aren’t going anywhere quickly.
Paper carrier bags, if they do end up in the sea, are biodegradable and will rot away.
The Environmentally Friendly Paper Carrier Bag
Here at shoppingbagsdirect we believe that paper carrier bags are more environmentally friendly than plastic carrier bags. The effect on the environment of the production and transport of packaging is not the only consideration. Paper carrier bags are more likely to be recycled than a plastic carrier bag. A quality paper carrier bag is more likely to be reused more than once compared to an ordinary plastic carrier bag. Paper carrier bags are biodegradable. Paper carrier bags cause less litter and less visual pollution. Most of all, paper carrier bags are not covering our seas and beaches with unsustainable plastic.
Our friendly staff at shoppingbagsdirect will be happy to help with any query, and will be pleased to help you choose the right environmentally-friendly carrier bag for your business and for your customers.
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