As more people have become frustrated by the sight of plastic bags in streets and along the coasts, legislators have proposed bans and taxes to mollify angry voters. Most recently, Italy made headlines when it decided to ban shopkeepers from handing out plastic bags to customers. You can also read a 2nd Green Revolution article on an unsuccessful attempt to ban plastic bags in California here.
But, is plastic really that much worse than paper? After reading an article by the Washington Post, I was surprised to discover just how complicated the debate really is. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each:
|
Paper |
Plastic |
|
| Pros
· May come from a sustainably managed forest · Higher recycling rate than plastic (10-15 versus 1-3 percent) · The bags themselves do not contain as many harmful chemicals as plastic · As litter, paper bags are biodegradable and therefore pose a much smaller threat to wildlife |
Pros
· Per unit, plastic requires less than ¼ the energy to produce · Plastic requires 91 percent less energy to be recycled · Plastic bags weigh significantly less than paper bags, and transportation is less costly and carbon intensive · More recycling programs are being developed |
|
| Cons
· In addition to requiring more energy to produce, paper production is much more water intensive · As trash in modern landfills is not exposed to air, water, or light, paper is not able to to biodegrade completely · During production, paper bags emit 70 percent more air pollutants and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic · Per bag, paper bags take up much more space than plastic bags (2,000 plastic bags weigh 80lbs versus 280lbs for paper) |
Cons
· Globally, it is estimated that 4 billion plastic bags wind up as litter · It has been documented that plastic bags have affected at least 267 species, and kill over 100,000 marine animals each year · Plastic bags intended to be recycled are often sent to India or China for incineration. · If recycled, it can cost $4,000 to recycle one ton of plastic bags, which is worth only $32 on the commodities market · Each year, plastic bag litter cost San Francisco an estimated $8.5 million |
As with many environmental debates, then, paper versus plastic isn’t as cut-and-dried as it might have seemed at first glance. On one hand, paper bags aren’t killing wildlife, but on the other, are much more resource intensive to produce and recycle.
Is it thus unfair to tax only plastic bags, or is it justified by their long-term ecological damage and unsightliness?
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Sources for pro/con list: Washington Post, American Chemistry Council, Californians Against Waste
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