It's the existential question of our day - "Paper or plastic?" The best answer, of course, is to bring your own reusable bag. But if you forget, what are the pros and cons of plastic bags vs. paper bags and their impact on the environment?
Today Joanne Colan of Rocketboom discusses just this topic. I also found a good article by Nikki Tundel of Minnesota Public Radio. The Sierra Club had these statistics on their site:
- 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 5 million lbs. and save $250,000 in disposal costs.
- Plastic bags carry 80% of the nation's groceries, up from 5% in 1982.
- When 1 ton of paper bags is reused or recycled, 3 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 1 ton of plastic bags is reused or recycled, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil are saved.
[Image by Jere Smith]