What's better for the environment, paper or plastic?

Question

There are downsides to both of them.

Paper comes from the trees, but plastic doesn't decompose.

You can get the cloth reusable bags, but what do the people who won't get those do?

When your at the grocery store, which should you chose? Which is better for the environment? Better for us?

Answer 1

We have been using cloth bags for almost a decade and still seem to bring home our fair share of plastic.  We try to encourage others to use cloth or re-usable bags.  

Plastic bags can be reused a few times.  Most stores also have paper bags, which can later be used as wrap .  It is also wonderful shredded in the composter.

I must again state that :

If it is not grown

It is mined.  

It is not just plastic bags, look around, how much plastic do you see? It is all a petroleum product. Which are non renewable.   We wonder why gas prices are so high.

Answer 2

I would think plastic is better because it can be recycled and it doesn't take chopping down trees to make plastic. When you go to the grocery store, you should bring your own bags, like a pool bag (made of cotton?).

Answer 3

Paper can, and should, be recycled.  Plastic can not be recycled as easily, and plus it is made from oil.

My church does a paper drive once a month, so I take my paper grocery bags and fill them up with all the junk mail I get throughout the money, then haul them over there to recycle.

Answer 4

Paper, renewable resources! Save The Earth!!!!

Answer 5

they both can be reused.

Answer 6

They both have their advanteges.  In the short run paper would be better because they can make a lot more and you don't need a lot.  In the long run plastic would be better because you can melt it down and re-use it better.

Answer 7

This is definitely a really contentious topic with lots of different opinions, but its probably plastic. Plastic can be recycled, just like paper, without the slaughter of the trees. Also, there's new methods being developed for the creation of plastic without the heavy reliance on oil.

Answer 8

niether is better  use a canvas bag they can be used 100s of times

Answer 9

How about bringing your own canvas sacks?  Plus we get a whopping .03 discount for each bag we bring from home!

Answer 10

The worst sort of bag is the sort you pick up at the store - take your own instead.

It doesn't much matter what type of bag you re-use at the store because by re-using it you are costing the environment nothing.  And it cost you nothing too.

Only when the bag can no longer be re-used does it matter what it was made of and then plastic is worse because it takes so long to decompose and it can be a hazard to wildlife until it has decomposed.

I think re-usable hessian bags are amongst the best because they last a long time and decompose naturally when worn out and discarded.  But if you already have some plastic bags it is best to use them up first rather than throw them away before they have worn out.  And remember never go shopping without your own bags.

I'm glad you are thinking about this issue and I am sure your example will be taken up by others eventually.  The issue is growing.

Best wishes

Answer 11

we need both paper and plastic.

Answer 12

I have been on too many different situations where I find plastic things (bags, tarps, bubble wrap, etc.)  in all the places it shouldn't be.  It tends to get burried right in the soil and it is not always easy to remove.  The plastic suffocates the earth; making it so that nothing can grow in these areas any longer.  

The earth is our mother, all it's suffering comes bouncing right back to us.  Go with paper, it is more natural and decomposes more quickly.  Paper is more widely recycled than plastic and if it does end up in the wrong places, it can easily go back to the earth quickly.

good luck!

Answer 13

plastic.

the paper are made from trees and we need the trees.

plastic are made from oil but can be recycled.

the cloth ones are synthetic cloth also made from oil. yes they can be used many times. BUT they use a lot more oil to make.

check the label then weigh and weigh a plastic bag.

weight for weight how many times will you have to use the cloth bag to save the amount of oil that is used in a plastic bag.

i think you will find that if you wash the cloth bag once a week it will fall apart long before the amount of plastic bags that were produced by the same amount of oil.

most cloth bags are cheaply made in china and fall apart with-en a month because the seams are sewn with light weight thread. or the handle falls off

i got one to carry books in to collage class and it lasted two weeks.

how many people recycle there cloth bags most are just thrown away when they fall apart.

now you know the true story that the stores are not telling you.

Answer 14

paper, because paper can be recycled and made into a variety of objects.  also, to outweigh the downsides of paper, you can use a far less amount of trees if you recycle.  Plastic is made of foreign oil and a lot of CO2 is released in the transportation and manufacturing stages.  Also, plastic bags break quickly and don't stand upright.

Answer 15

Plastic, it saves the trees.  I reuse the plastic to dump my rubbish and it works out for me.  Our trash is burned for electricity so it gets recycled one more time.

Answer 16

Paper. If bio-degradable plastic is available, then Plastic.

Answer 17

I would suggest you take your own plastic or paper bag from your own house so that your dont waste it

Answer 18

Paper for the win, it is bio-degradable, recyclable and it is a renewable natural resource.

Plastic, not bio-degradable, recyclable, and is not a renewable natural resource.

I aways get a kick from people against cutting trees, because they never think twice about the trees used to build their homes, the trees cut to give land to grow crops they buy at the grocery store, the power poles that gives the electricity to be here online, the boxes for the goods they buy at the store, the books that they read, the wood in their fire place, etc... The even funnier part is if there wasn't a market for timber, then more land would be cleared for cattle or development. The more valuable trees are economically, the more people will grow them. If there is no market for timber, then most people will change the use of the land to something to make a income.

Answer 19

paper can be reused..

Answer 20

If we pretend that these are the only 2 options available, I think that plastic bags are better environmentally.  Plastic is made from oil but more bags can be made with less energy and the energy needed to ship plastic bags is less than shipping paper because it's lighter.  Paper bags can and should be recycled but banking on that in America is unlikely in a good part of the country so you are filling up landfills faster.  Where I live plastic bags are recycled.