Plastic bags vs. Paper bags?

Question

Seriously which one is supposed to be better for the environment and why.

Answer 1

ALWAYS Bring Your Own Bags. that is the best way to go. and if u have no other choice then choose paper and REUSE that

Answer 2

Plastic, I can re use a plastic bag. I've had the same 4 re-usable bags for over 2 years now and they are still going strong, like to see a paper one do that. I would prefer a natural fibre one, but have you seen what shops charge for those? My girlfriend tells me paper bags take a lot more energy to produce too

Answer 3

Hey, I was just wondering the same thing! I choose plastic over recycled paper because it's so weak for packing items! If I double the recycled paper bag then I choose paper, since trees are renewable and some of our forests are so overcrowded and unhealthy that logging them is a plus!
I live near a pulp mill and the trees that are hauled there are of poor unhealthy quality. So I believe removing them is a benefit to both mankind and the environment as well.
I've heard there are plastic factories in areas of the world (like Turkey for one, while friends were visiting there) they told me the pollution was so bad that when it snowed, very little, the snow was black, plus they said there were plastic bags wind blown and lying all over the place?!!!
This could be due to oil refineries as well (the black snow)?
So even though a pulp mill may stink, I haven't seen no black snow lately!

Answer 4

Paper is better for the enviroment because it can be recycled. Most people do use plastic though because it doesn't rip as easily, it has handles, and they can be crunched down to fit into places like your cart (if you want to stack the bags if you have a lot) or the car. But paper does hold more objects and can hold a lot of weight, unlike plastic which sometimes you need two bags to put something in.

Answer 5

in all seriousness, neither is the lesser of the two evils, if you have to any thing you should use a reusable canvas bag. Plastic bags are petrolium based and it can take up to a thousand years for a single plastic bag to decompose. Paper bags on the same end are made from trees and alot of trees are clear cut for one time paper products and a majority of people just dont recylce them anyway. for more info you should cheld check out the following website
www.kleercut.org

Answer 6

Plastic takes a long, long time to degrade plus the bags themselves cause harm to sea life and some land mammals. Paper on the other hand degrades quickly and can be recycled multiple time.

I live on the Chesapeake Bay, south of Annapolis, MD. The city of Annapolis is going to vote soon to ban all plastic shopping bags in the city. I think this is a great start. There's few things worth then fishing or swimming in the Bay and becoming entangled in plastic bad trash. It's a good start.

Answer 7

Paper bags because if you say, left a paper bag outside on the ground, over time it would end up decomposing into the ground. Plastic bags on the other hand would not do that and therefore they become dangerous to animals and harm the environment.

Answer 8

Cloth bags you bring are the best, but I recycle all bags the store gives me. If you get paper ones, they come from trees, or recycled paper which comes from trees. But the paper bags will decompose. Paper bags can probably be made from cotton or bamboo also.
The plastic ones come from polyethylene which is a product of petro-chemistry. Also added to that are a lot of other products like plastifiers made from phthalates (which are carcinogens) and aromatic compounds (contain benzene rings) which are very stable and do not readily decompose.
Now that you brought up this question, I will try to use only paper and cloth bags.

Answer 9

Recycle Paper

Answer 10

I personally think paper is better for the enviroment because you do use trees to make them but you can always grow trees back and when making plastic your just poluting the air and you can't get the air clean as easily as it is to grow more trees. Also you can always recycle paper bags and if they're not getting recycled they decompose faster then plastic.

Answer 11

Paper bags are biodegradable in a short time span or can be recycled with paper. Plastic bags probably take years! I've been trying to take mine back to the same store and reuse them when I shop. I hate discarding them in the trash, and they take up too much space in my house! Also charity thrift stores will take bags usually, too, for their own use, along with clothes hangers.