Plastic Vrs, Paper?

Question

My supermarket has a sign that says their plastic bags degrade in the same time as their paper bags. True?

Answer 1

Questions About Your Community:
Shopping Bags: Paper or Plastic
or . . .?

Did you know plastic grocery bags consume 40% less energy to produce and generate 80% less solid waste than paper bags? Did you know plastic bags can take 1,000 years to decompose whereas paper bags take about a month to decompose? The debate over whether plastic or paper bags are better for the environment has a long history and is often rekindled each time we check out at the grocery store when we hear that familiar question: Paper or plastic? Many of us have not been able to resolve this question, but there is an alternative --read on below.

There seem to be pluses and minuses on both sides of the debate. For paper bags, the life cycle stages consist of timber harvesting, pulping, paper and bag making, product use and waste disposal. For plastic (polyethylene) bags, the steps involve petroleum or natural gas extraction, ethylene manufacture, ethylene polymerization, bag processing, product use and waste disposal. In all of these steps, energy is required and wastes are generated.

Some more facts about these two products may help us to answer this age-old question:

* Plastic bags were first introduced in 1977 and now account for four out of every five bags handed out at grocery stores.
* Paper sacks generate 70 percent more air and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.
* Paper bags are made from trees, which are a renewable resource. Most plastic bags are made from polyethylene, which is made from crude oil and natural gas, nonrenewable resources.
* 2000 plastic bags weigh 30 pounds, 2000 paper bags weigh 280 pounds. The latter takes up a lot more landfill space.
* It takes 91 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper. It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag. Energy to produce the bags (in British thermal units): Safeway plastic bags: 594 BTU; Safeway paper bags: 2511 BTU.
* Paper is accepted in most recycling programs while the recycling rate for plastic bags is very low. Research from 2000 shows 20 percent of paper bags were recycled, while one percent of plastic bags were recycled.
*Current research demonstrates that paper in today's landfills does not degrade or break down at a substantially faster rate than plastic does. In fact, nothing completely degrades in modern landfills due to the lack of water, light, oxygen, and other important elements that are necessary for the degradation process to be completed.
* Incineration can decrease the quantity of plastic and paper bags. However, incineration causes air pollution and creates ash which has to be landfilled.

So, what is the answer, paper or plastic? NEITHER! Look into purchasing reusable bags or reusing your paper or plastic bags at the store. Reusing a bag meant for just one use has a big impact. A sturdy, reusable bag needs only be used 11 times to have a lower environmental impact than using 11 disposable plastic bags.

* In New York City alone, one less grocery bag per person per year would reduce waste by five million pounds and save $250,000 in disposal costs.
* When one ton of paper bags is reused or recycled, three cubic meters of landfill space is saved and 13 - 17 trees are spared! In 1997, 955,000 tons of paper bags were used in the United States.
* When one ton of plastic bags is reused or recycled, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil are saved.

Many grocery stores now offer for sale sturdy cloth grocery bags. Some of these stores even give you a little discount (e.g., five cents per bag) if you bring your own bag. So, keep a stash of reusable bags in your pantry or if you drive to the store simply keep them in your trunk.

Answer 2

I prefer paper, but its harder fro me to carry paper from my car into my house, SO I always make a point to reuse my plastic bags that I get at least once, Ieven if its to use as filler when shipping a package instead of newspapers (which I dont have because I do not subscribe)

I do not believe I have seen these plastic bags yet where I am from But I will keep my eyes open for them.

If grocery stores charged us for the bags, I bet we would be more friendly and use less, and recycle more.

Answer 3

No way... Unless the plastic is biodegradeable. This is more expensive than paper and plastic so this is probaly not the case. Paper degrades in less than a year. Petrolum plastic bags take up to 200. Now Wal-Mart, Publix, Wegmans, Safe-Way, and Kroger all use Petrolum based plastics. Other grocery stores I do not know.

Answer 4

It depends. We always get plastic, because we reuse them, and our town doesn't have a convienient way to recycle anything but metal.

I use bags when I'm cooking to hold the trash like veg. peels, and eggshells.

They are also useful if you are shipping something in a box, because they can help cushion the item, and then be used by the recipient as needed.

They make great trashbags for small cans in the bathroom or bedroom. They're also good for sending leftovers home with guests. Just put all the containers in a bag and out the door they go.

-joie

Answer 5

I didn't think that plastic degrades at all.
So, False.
And I can prove it.
If I place a plastic bag and a paper bag outside and allow the environment to reak havoc on it, I guarantee you the paper bag will start to break down, but I will find the plastic bag has not broken down at all.....the plastic bag will just be dirty.

Answer 6

There are all sorts of man made materials that were once bad for the environment that now degrade easily, such as packing peanuts that degrade in contact with water.
Most grocery stores have a plastic bag recycling bin in the store that you can deposit your old bags into.

Answer 7

Neither. I bring my own.

As for degrading, plastic takes a lot longer to degrade than paper bags.

Answer 8

o_O This is kinda an odd Q for me =_= 1.) When you go shopping: Paper or plastic bags? >> I carry all my crap cause usually I don't have enough money to buy a lot of it =D 2.) Paper or plastic? (as in cash vs. card) >> Neither TT_TT..... I pick weird metal like substance!! Just cause I don't OWN a card and cause I'm so broke that I don't even have a dollar bill right now -______-'' 3.) BLEACH CORNER: What the heck is this? >> OMFG... I don't usually watch the openings and endings that well but I know that THAT is NOT right!!! AT ALL!!! UGH!! Scarred for life AGAIN!!! How many times can this happen to some one my age?? T_T

Answer 9

If you live in the San Franciso area this may be true. They recently passed legislation outlawing plastic grocery bags and retailers have replaced them with a bio-degradable substitute.

Answer 10

supposedly they r making the grocery store plastic bags thinner or something so degrade quicker BUT it will never b as quick as paper. if u r really concerned buy cloth bags and don't worry about either

Answer 11

I don't know if their claim is true or not, but I know that I only get plastic bags at the grocery. I re-use them many times.
An exterminator once told me that paper bags have the potential of harboring cockroaches. I only had to hear that once.