Last night while buying groceries I was asked a question I have heard a hundred times. Paper or plastic? This time I said paper because I use the paper bags to put all my recyclable paper products in. I usually get plastic because I like to reuse them in various ways. I primarily use them as trash bags or as toys when I am babysitting. My nephew likes to pretend he is an astronaut. They are also indispensable for the taxi ride home after an insane night of drinking. I have found that if you vomit in a cabbie's ride chances are you will end up walking the rest of the way home or wake up cuddled next to some homeless guy under an overpass.
Hearing this question, paper or plastic?, for the 474th time made me wonder which is better for the environment. I did a bit of research and found out that the answer is not so simple. I had to think about both product life cycles from cradle to grave.
Here is what I found:
Hearing this question, paper or plastic?, for the 474th time made me wonder which is better for the environment. I did a bit of research and found out that the answer is not so simple. I had to think about both product life cycles from cradle to grave.
Here is what I found:
Paper
Extraction - Trees are logged (sometimes from sustainably managed forests, sometimes not).
Transportation - The trees are then shipped to a paper mill.
Manufacturing - After drying for approximately three years the trees are cut into little squares. Next, they are turned into pulp using limestone and sulfurous acid. The pulp is then washed with water and bleach. Finally, it is pressed into paper and made into paper bags.
Distribution - The paper bags are trucked to distribution centers from where they will eventually reach the supermarkets.
Use - Humans then use the bags to carry groceries to their lovely homes or double wides.
Disposal - The bags are then recycled or sent to a landfill.
Plastic
Extraction - Oil is taken from the Earth.
Transportation - The oil is piped to refineries. Pellets are shipped to where the bags will be made.
Manufacturing - Once at a refinery, the oil is made into small polyethylene pellets. The pellets are then heated and formed into bags.
Distribution - The bags then are shipped by truck to distribution centers and eventually supermarkets.
Use - Again the bags are used for carrying groceries and other items from the stores to our homes. Bags are then repurposed as garbage sacks and playthings.
Disposal - Eventually they are either thrown into the trash bin or taken to a recycling center.
Wait!!!! The story does not end there. Many other things have to be taken into consideration. What does it take to recycle each product? What percentage actually gets recycled? How much energy does each process take? Etc., etc., etc. What's that you ask? Why yes I do have all the answers...
- Paper bags take 4 times the energy to produce as plastic bags
- Paper bag production generates 70% more air and 50% more water pollution that plastic bag production
- Paper bags take 98% more energy to recycle than plastic bags
- 10-15% of paper bags are recycled; 1-3% of plastic bags are recycled
- Plastic compacts easier in landfills
Are You One Of The Dumb?
- 7 in 10 Americans don't know that plastic is made from petroleum products, primarily oil
- 4 in 10 believe plastic will biodegrade underground, in landfills, or in the ocean
Still confused? If so, I have a solution for you. Buy a few of those reusable grocery bags being sold in the stores. Make sure not to buy the branded bags with the supermarket's name on the side. I have a couple reusable Fred Meyer bags my momma gave me but I feel like a fool taking them into Haggen's. Another mistake I often make is keeping them inside the house. Keep them in your car that way you will not forget them at home and they will always be handy.
Now where is my nephew? I remember hearing him in the other room saying something about being on the moon but I haven't heard a peep out of the little Neil Armstrong in a half an hour.
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