Paper or Plastic Grocery Bags: What You May Not Know

Get all of the facts about paper and plastic grocery bags and what your dicision at the grocery store really means to you and to the environment,

Would you like a paper or plastic grocery bag? We hear that question all the time. We constantly have to choose the best shopping bag and we think we know what the politically correct answer is. In fact, more and more, grocery stores are choosing for us. Some only have paper available because it is considered a greener choice and some do not have paper at all. But there are things that you may not know.

I am going to give you the rest of the story. So what do we choose? Which choice is politically correct? Which choice is the greenest? Which one will work best for us? Get the facts before you choose. You may be surprised by the facts but you will be making an informed choice.

Avoid both paper and plastic and choose a canvas bag if you can.
Canvas bags are the best choice because they can be used over and over again. They can hold almost everything and won't break or tear. Plus, we can often get cheaper prices on groceries at stores where we have to bag our own groceries with our own bags. They are the most environmentally friendly and maybe the cheapest choice we can make in the long run. However, they may not always be practical if we are buying in bulk. If they will not work for you, then you will have to choose between paper and plastic.

Know the pros and cons of paper bags.

The best thing about paper bags is that they are made from an unlimited natural resource. We are all concerned about trees being cut, but the majority of paper bags come from trees that are grown for profit on tree stands that are continuously replanted.

The con about paper bags is that they produce a lot more water and air pollution during the manufacturing process, they require many more trucks to transport the same amount of bags than it takes to transport plastic (thus adding more air pollution), and they take up a lot more landfill space. Even though they are biodegradable, it may not matter much because landfills are made so that they don’t really biodegrade much anyway.

Know the pros and cons of plastic bags.

The best thing about plastic bags is that they produce a lot less air and water pollution during the manufacturing process. They are also much more compact to transport, requiring far fewer trucks (thus being cheaper and producing less air pollution), and they take up a lot less landfill space (because they compact so much more). They are also easy to recycle since many larger stores have recycling bins for plastic bags at the store entrance.

The con about plastic is that it is oil dependent and oil is a limited resource. Additionally, they often end up on the sides of roads. They are thrown out so that marine life and animals can get to them. If they are digested they can kill them because they block the digestive tract and/or line their stomachs.

Always reuse before recycling.
Reusing skips at least one recycling process. This means less pollution and cost from the recycling process. If you cannot reuse them, then always recycle. For creative ways to reuse plastic bags, check out the article "How to Reuse a Plastic Bag" listed just above.