Paper bags are heavier and bulkier than plastic bags this means that they need more fuel to be transported. In fact, according to plastic industry.org, for every one truck needed to deliver plastic bags, seven are needed to deliver the same amount of paper bags. This shows that even in the transportation stage, paper bags have a greater contribution to air pollution and climate change.

Paper bags are recycled more often than plastic bags because unlike paper bags, the quality of the plastic is diminished once it is recycled. Also, paper bags are biodegradable while plastic bags are harder to degrade naturally, making its improper disposal a serious problem. Improper disposal of plastic bags, as previously mentioned, has been attributed to flooding in the urban environment. Plastic can also harm or kill animals who mistake it for food, especially in the marine environment. However, paper bags are less durable and cannot be used once they are wet, making them more difficult to reuse, unlike plastic bags. Recycling paper consumes more energy compared to plastic.

Overall, using paper bags seems to be more harmful to the environment due to the resources needed to manufacture them and also its effects on ecosystems and contribution to climate change. In the case of grocery shopping, we think plastic bags should be chosen over paper bags. However, we still believe that the best option is a durable, reusable bag as it will be able to offset its impacts during the extraction and manufacturing stages through a much longer life-cycle compared to both plastic bags and paper bags. They are not designed to be readily disposable but to be reusable for a long period of time. Always keep a reusable bag at hand.

What do you guys think about it? Lets discuss this in the comments!