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posted by martyb on Thursday January 19 2017, @05:06AM   Printer-friendly
from the tree-huggers-may-be-surprised dept.

AlterNet reports

It's a basic question faced by millions of shoppers every day: paper or plastic? Making the best choice for the environment, however, is less simple.

Last November, Californians approved Proposition 67, which upheld a 2014 ban on the issuing of single-use plastic bags in grocery and drug stores. As a result, shops were able to continue charging customers around a dime for reusable plastic or paper bags. The ban seems effective because it should lead to a reduction in plastic waste. More importantly, the extra charge aims to incentivize people to bring their own reusable bags to the store. But let's face it, many shoppers still forget, which brings us back to that darn choice we often have to make at the checkout line.

So, which option is better?

[...]The U.K. Environment Agency, a governmental research group, conducted a similar inquiry around the same time period. Its report[PDF] was a life cycle assessment comparing the environmental impacts of a variety of grocery bags. From extensive research, some of the study's key findings concluded that:

  • Single-use plastic bags outperformed all alternatives, even reusable ones, on environmental performance.
  • Plastic bags have a much lower global warming potential.
  • The environmental impact of all types of bag is dominated by the resource use and production stages. Transport, secondary packaging, and end-of-life management generally have minimal influence on their performance.
  • Whatever type of bag is used, the key to reducing the impacts is to reuse it as many times as possible.

The ecological break-even point with a cloth grocery bag comes on its 131st use.


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  • (Score: 1) by tftp on Thursday January 19 2017, @08:21AM

    by tftp (806) on Thursday January 19 2017, @08:21AM (#455951) Homepage

    Tell that to the people who manufacture and sell "the same."

    They exist? Who are they? Perhaps, makers of most basic staples in the food industry? Beyond that everything seems to be in flux. There is very little stability in our world. Perhaps in 1500's an apprentice could learn the trade, make the masterpiece and settle down, unchanging, until the end of his days. But today? There isn't enough time in the day to read all the important news in my area of expertise.

  • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday January 19 2017, @08:31AM

    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday January 19 2017, @08:31AM (#455953) Journal

    My lawyer has advised me to say that it's definitely NOT ExxonMobil.

    Thank you and god bless.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 19 2017, @02:09PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 19 2017, @02:09PM (#456042)

    I ran a 8 year experiment back in the 1580s when one of the blacksmiths was singing the praises of their artisan plastic bags. Tacked a couple to the sunny side of a shed, and staked a couple more on the ground. Ten years later my wife took them down and threw them in the recycle when we moved out of that house.

    Statute of limitations on false advertising had already expired.