Plastic Bags: A Defense

There is an argument that plastic bags really aren't that bad. At least not in comparison to some of the alternatives. Let's take paper bags, for example.

Plastic bags require 40% less energy to manufacture than paper bags do. For every seven lorries needed to deliver paper bags, only one lorry is need for the same number of plastic bags, helping to save energy and reduce emissions. Apparently, it takes 91% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper and plastic bags generate around 80% less waste than the paper alternative.

2000 bags weigh 30lbs, while 2000 paper bags weigh over 280lbs, so not only do they acount for less of the total weight dumped in a landfill but plastic bags also take up alot less space.
Plastic grocery bags make up a fraction (less than 0.5 percent) of the US municipal waste stream.

The manufacture and use of paper bags generates 70% more air emissions than plastic bags. Furthermore, plastic bags generate only 40% of the greenhouse gas emissions of non-composted paper bags and only 21% of greenhouse gas emissions of composted paper bags.
The production of plastic bags consumes less than 4% of the water needed to make the paper bags.

Lastly, it is estimated that around 65% of Americans reuse their plastic bags for trash disposal and other uses.

These are the arguments put forward by the Society of the Plastics Industries's Film and Bag Federation (FBF). The Federation actively promotes the growth of the plastic film and bag industry.



Ok, so we've established that plastic bags are better than paper bags. We also know that paper bags turn to mush in the rain while plastic bags don't. The point is, no one should be “promoting the growth of the plastic bag industry”. We need to find alternatives that are entirely (or at least as far as possible) ethical. It shouldn't be a question of which bag is the lesser of two evils. The reasons that the FBF lists for why it should be plastic over paper mask the fact that still far too many plastic bags are making their way into landfills, pollute habitats, kill animals and clog drainage systems. They still generate greenhouse gasses and create unnecessary waste.

I don't understand why the FBF has taken the time and effort to justify the promotion of plastic bags when it's clear that they are “almost” as detremental to the environment. Why can't the time and effort put into this tripe be implemented by other organizations to significantly reduce the consumption of plastic bags?


S.Alzuria