What advantages come from using paper bags instead of plastic bags?

Answer 1

well you save the environment like this. if you through a plastic bag in the garbage and someone after 100 years goes to check it out he/she will find this plastic bag exactly the way it was a century ago.the plastic bags need about 300 years till they are destroyed.
but on the other hand the paper bag can be recycled from nature. what i mean is that paper is a natural material so there are plenty of bacteria or microorganisms that will consume this paper bag.
so using paper bags saves the environment.the environment is our home so to make the long story short you keep your house clean.

Answer 2

Reuse.

Some people I've dealt with actually lined their paper bags, 3 times from when they made trips to the grocery stores and would take 3-5 of these in the store with them so they could re bag their groceries in these bags, and have tremendous stability can be reused many, many times.

Paper also carries well with heavy loads, as you pick them up from the bottom, instead of with a plastic handle that can be harder on older peoples hands, as it cuts into the skin.

Also paper stands up better, and is less likely to spill small items allover the car. Paper also seals in cold items very well for items such as ice cream and frozen vegetables.

Plastic is water proof, and cheaper to be made than the paper bags.

Both can be recycled, but plastic is worse for the environment due to the process in which it is made.

Go with paper, always.

Answer 3

Paper bags are recyclable.
Plastic bags are not generally recycled.
Here's some wisdom I got from an engineer who used to work in the paper industry....
Printed brown paper supermarket bags can be recycled, however there is a catch. the "de inking" & recycling process
can be something of a "polluter "in itself.
The energy required to recycle paper is not always in proportion to the recycling benefit.
Best uses w/ current technology is to use the recycled paper as a supplement in "low end" paper products like cardboard boxes & leaf bags which are at least mostly biodegradable.
Plastic bags are generally not recycled because the cost in reprocessing energy outweighs the benefit.
Some effort is being made to make them degrade faster since they just get buried.
Technology is catching up but there will always be energy costs & some waste material attached to most recycling efforts.
Thats from a fmr. paper industry guy.
Would like to know what a plastics guy has to say.
Everything is a tradeoff.

Answer 4

People can not even begin to figure out how long it will take for a plastic bag to decompose, which compared to a paper bag, takes less time because it is processed wood. Plus just having them flying around, getting stuck in trees and I have seen them stuck on animals before too. The best thing would be to buy yourself the reusable grocery bags available now in most stores. You just need to remember to take them with you each time you go.

Answer 5

I see you asked a similar Q right after this one.

In reality the issue isn't about CAN either be recycled; it's more, "ARE THEY" being recycled? I mean by that; no matter all your good intent; once you've done your GREEN deed, how effective were your efforts once the product reaches any recycling plant; if in fact it does; and what percentage still ends up in land fill; of either substance.

To "Re-Cycle" might seem the moral and ethical thing to do; and certainly on an individual basis a very valid notion. The problem is in the cost to recycle; once that load of either kind of bag leaves your hands. Beyond that are the politics involved in budgeting for Recycle "Plants" and distances to them, plus municipalities able to, or willing to support such programs.

At this point in time; Forests are still being clear cut exponentially. Here in the USA we are at a point of getting a lot of our wood as imported. That may help save some of our trees, but in a global sense, Forestry still continues.

"Plastic" while seeming to save a tree; costs us in fuels consumption in the manufacture and recycle process. Seems like a double edged sword to me. I do note movements attempting to create a consciousness of re-useable "BAGS" for whatever purpose; though I suspect that will never be global.

Certainly,,,and again; as an individual, if so inclined; YOU can help. Don't ask for double bags, of either substance. Ask that what you purchase; especially at a grocery store; be thoughtfully placed to use less bags. Don't discard plastic or paper bags in with normal household trash. Seek out possible, local recycling centers and learn WHAT and how items and materials are in fact recycled.

It may be a stretch; but at some point neither may be available, as all resources are either depleted; or directed more narrowly to construction; fuels; etc.

Steven Wolf
"Go Green"

Answer 6

IMHO, I'd rather not try to choose between "two evils".

If neither option is truly sustainable then BYOB :-)
http://www.reusablebags.com/

Many markets, such as Whole Foods, New Leaf or Staff of Life sell canvas or "chico" bags. If you use them they will either discount your grocery tab or make a donation to a charity of your choice on your behalf. I would love to see supermarket and other large store chains putting this into practice.

I use canvas but many of my friends like the compact nature of the chico bag which even has a internal recycling program for their bags. www.chicobag.com This cradle-to-cradle approach is what I hope more industry will incorporate into their business models instead of the cradle-to-grave models which have been used since the industrial revolution and created the mess we're now trying to clean up.

Nature is the best model . . . waste should become "food" for something else

Answer 7

You have never heard of a child or animal suffocating , by becoming entangled in a paper bag ...besides anything made out of plastic is cheap and does not perform well at all , plus I can burn paper , it is toxic to burn plastic

Answer 8

paper will decompose if it is thrown out in the trash instead of recycled. Plastic will not.

Answer 9

We can grow more trees.
We can't grow more dinosaurs.