Paper or Plastic?

Paper or plastic? That is the all important question when checking out of a grocery store. The answer may be found in the practices stores themselves are employing. We are seeing less and less paper bags offered on a regular basis at grocery stores and other retail outlets. This is for several reasons. First, plastic bags cost far less per item than paper and you can store many more thousands on site than the paper alternative. Second, there is a distinct energy savings with plastic over paper.

I say this with one caveat. In order to realize the energy savings over the life cycle of the bag, you must recycle the plastic.

Each bag must have natural resources harvested, shipped to market, produced, delivered to the store, and finally recycled by you. Each step requires energy to be utilized in the process. Energy is of course created primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, so at any step of the cycle, pollution is produced. Therefore, any decision you make can increase or decrease the amount of pollution created.

Back to the question; Paper or plastic? Unless I need a paper bag for reuse at home, I always choose plastic and always recycle the bag by bringing it back to the place of purchase or to any one of our County transfer stations for recycling.

The best practice is to not use either! Instead, bring with you to the store, canvas reusable bags that can be used time and time again. By employing this one little step, you can reduce the number of bags used annually by your household by hundreds; thereby increasing energy savings, reducing pollution, and preventing litter.

Article seen as published in the North County News as part of a regular "Recycling Tip of Week" column