Hi Guys,
A few days back
I was watching a TED Talk by Leyla Acaraglu on the topic ‘Paper beats Plastic? How to rethink Environmental Folklore’. I knew
some of the disadvantages of paper (a few years back I had written as to why
Plastic cups are better than Paper cups?), but I never thought that Paper bags
are as environmentally dangerous as Plastic Bags.
There is this
trend across the world of throwing out Plastic bags and embracing Paper Bags.
In the big retails outlets in India, you are charged some money for being
provided with a Plastic Bag, but then the outlet can provide a Paper Bag for
free (though not many do as it means more costs). If you carry a paper bag with
you, you are seen as an environmental friendly person and you become a nature
lover. And all environmental enthusiasts back this idea and encourage Paper
Bags.
What are the
disadvantages that Paper Bags Possess?
To begin with,
Papers are not manufactured from a healthy source. They are made from trees.
The process of manufacturing paper involves lot of machinery and a huge amount
of clean water. 35% of deforestation in past 40 years is for the purpose of
manufacturing paper. On one side of the equation, environmentalists’ advice Reforestation
and on the other side they encourage Paper. Trees are the main source of
absorbing Carbon Dioxide and providing Oxygen apart from other numerous
purposes.
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| Are Paper Bags really good? Photo Source: Wiki Commons |
Paper requires
nearly four times more energy than Plastic to be produced. Paper Production
emits more ‘green house’ gases than plastic production (around 70% more) and
causes more water pollution (around 50%).
The most common
reasoning done by the paper supporters is based on weight. They say a kilogram
of paper is much better than a kilogram of plastic. But as Leyla Acaraglu points
out in her talk, it is not an Apple to Apple comparison. You need to look at
the functionality. Anyone who has used both would know that paper bags weigh
more than plastic bags to the tune of at least four times for carrying similar
weight. So at the end of the day, if you tend to use Paper Bags, you use more
paper than corresponding plastic bags.
When it comes to
Biodegradation, Papers are said to be better. Papers are actually better. But
only if they are made into a Compost. For that purpose, the paper should be
less inked and should be like how it was produced. Most bags we buy has inks
printed onto it and it doesn’t become suitable for a fertilizer. Most of papers
end up in landfills and it takes a lot of years of biodegrade. Papers ending up
in landfills produce more Methane than plastic and hence more ‘green house’
gases.
In terms of
Recycling, it is found that Paper consumes 90% more energy than Plastic to be
recycled. The paper has to be made into pulp again and it is possible only with
less inked paper. Most plastics can be recycled though to a lower quality
(technically they are downcylced).
The main
disadvantage of plastic bags lies in the fact that they are littered around and
lot of wild life end up dying after eating them. Apart from this fact, paper
bags don’t have much of an advantage over plastic bags.
So, if you are a
person concerned about Environment, it is better to leave Paper Bags. The
better solution lies in reusing bags without getting them each time. Also,
cloth bags could become a real alternative. It is always important to consider
the other end of the spectrum.
Happy Reading!
Sources
- http://www.treehugger.com/culture/paper-bags-or-plastic-bags-everything-you-need-to-know.html
- http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/paper-plastic.htm
- http://www.ted.com/talks/leyla_acaroglu_paper_beats_plastic_how_to_rethink_environmental_folklore
