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There were some life-cycle analyses done which created quite a stir arguing that plastic was better when the full life-cycle was considered. I can't find the or
by gerbler 6y ago
There were some life-cycle analyses done which created quite a stir arguing that plastic was better when the full life-cycle was considered. I can't find the original paper but here's a summary [1] of studies with sources (from a bag website)
1: http://www.allaboutbags.ca/papervplasticstudies.html http://www.allaboutbags.ca/papervplasticstudies.html.
- sudasana 6y agoNot sure if a site compiled by the Canadian Plastics Industry Association is a great source here. Even though it cites sources, there's probbaly some strong selection bias going on here.
- gerbler 6y agoI missed it was from a plastics association. But my point about the life-cycle analysis work is still valid - I studied this a little in grad-school and the paper v plastic bag trade-off was frequently discussed because of the surprising results. (Life-cycle analysis does have huge assumptions involving usage, so it's not an exact science)
- curyous 6y agoI'm not sure life-cycle analysis is that useful in this case. If a paper bag requires more energy to produce, it could still be better for the environment as it doesn't stay around polluting the world forever.