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I've always thought the debate was in terms of energy required to manufacture the individual bags. In terms of recyclability and sustainability doesn't paper wi
by pyrotrout 8y ago
I've always thought the debate was in terms of energy required to manufacture the individual bags. In terms of recyclability and sustainability doesn't paper win out? The stuff literally grows on trees on farms
- airstrike 8y agoTechnically, it grows as trees
- _bxg1 8y agoFrom what I've read, all of the types have different tradeoffs. The thinnest plastic ones technically have the smallest carbon footprint because there's less weight to ship around, the materials are easier to acquire, etc. My personal reasoning is that there are lots of other (more significant) ways to combat climate change, but there's no other way to stop whales from choking to death on plastic. Then again, I could just be more emotionally affected by the tangible images of plastic pollution than by the more abstract notion of carbon footprint.
- azemetre 8y agoI'm honestly doubting this, it seems outright insane to not take into the external costs of plastic (lasts forever) compared to fabric or paper. Where are you getting this from?
- _bxg1 8y agohttps://www.theverge.com/2018/5/12/17337602/plastic-tote-bags-climate-change-litter-life-cycle-assessments-environment https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/12/17337602/plastic-tote-bag...
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- cimmanom 8y agoIt's changed over time. 30 years ago, paper recycling wasn't mainstream and paper bags were made from Amazonian forests. And even with recycling, you have to account for costs including not only energy but also chemical pollution caused by manufacturing process. And then there's the question of which items get re-used. The reusable bags haven't proven to be much of a win because not only do they cost more in energy, materials, and pollution to create, people still forget them at home and buy new ones each time.