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A plastic bag is about 5.5 grams. 10 bags of groceries would be 55 grams. A gallon (US) of gas is about 3350 grams. So if you drive 5 miles round trip in a car
by Merrill 7y ago
A plastic bag is about 5.5 grams. 10 bags of groceries would be 55 grams.
A gallon (US) of gas is about 3350 grams. So if you drive 5 miles round trip in a car getting 20 miles/gallon for local driving, it uses 837 grams of gas. The oil in the bags is about 6% of the oil used on such a shopping trip.
Of course that doesn't include the plastic packaging of food, soft drinks, bottled water, etc. which is probably more comparable to the amount of oil used by the car.
- WhompingWindows 7y agoYou're throwing out a lot of numbers, do you have sources for those calculations? Specifically on the bags and how much oil is needed to produce plastics.
- cartoonworld 7y agoYour point is well taken but please keep in mind that the inputs for fuel oil and plastic aren't the same. For example, plastic production requires ethylene which is a different product of the fuel cracking process. Notice the PE or HDPE in recycling brands, the E is Ethylene. Drawing a 1:1 relationship between gasoline and plastic inputs is not accurate.
- caf 7y agoAs long as that plastic packaging isn't being subsequently incinerated, at least the C content is remaining locked away in solid form.