Are Paper Bags Really Better Than Plastic Ones?
The answer isn’t always yes
We’ve all seen it — the plastic-littered beaches. The dead fish. The stories about starving or injured birds. The news articles about human infants containing 15 times more microplastics than adults.
It’s scary stuff.
So it’s great news that many countries are slowly taking measures to reduce our plastic usage, such as Amazon switching to primarily recyclable packaging. Plastic bags have also been a key target in cutting down on plastic, such as the plastic bag tax.
It makes sense — we use 160,000 plastic bags a second. That’s enough to cover the surface of France every thirty minutes. But you didn’t click on this to read about why plastic bags are bad — you know that, I know that, we all know we need to reduce our plastic usage.
The question is, are paper bags a viable replacement to plastic ones?
Obviously, reusable “bags for life” are a great option. They are often made from durable, natural or recycled materials, are cheap to buy, and easy to use over and over again (A lot of them are also cute and cute things are good). But there are lots of situations where it isn’t practical or feasible to use reusable bags. It wouldn’t make sense for your local supermarket to use bags for life when delivering your groceries. Or maybe you are just forgetful like me and there’s a non-zero chance you don’t bring any bags with you to your weekly shop.
In these situations, do you opt for plastic or paper?
Pros of paper bags:
- Recyclable
- Decompose in about a month
- Typically non-toxic
Pros of plastic bags:
- Greater durability
- Waterproof
- About 5 times cheaper to produce than paper bags
If we assume that every bag is thrown away or recycled, then obviously paper is superior. It’s better for the environment in just about every situation. But the environment isn’t the only factor to consider. We also need to look at the indirect impacts of paper versus plastic.
Durability is a big one. As someone who gets takeout a bit too regularly, wet/warm food does not go well with thin paper. If the bag rips, it can generate food waste or increase water usage to clean up the mess. And you can’t recycle food-covered paper. With plastic bags you have the option of reusing them, but even if you avoid water, paper bags only survive for so long.
Switching exclusively to paper bags could also affect poorer demographics. The plastic bag tax aside, companies may slightly increase their prices to cover the greater cost of using paper bags. This could negatively impact world hunger and human health.
Well fine, you say. If they’re all bad, how about no bags at all?
This is an option in some cases. For example, Tesco in the UK currently has the option to get groceries delivered with minimal packaging. The food arrives in big plastic crates that you unpack at the door. Now I’m fine with the minor inconvenience of scrambling on my knees to unpack my food every couple of weeks, but this doesn’t work for everybody. Older people, people with disabilities, or even people with limited free time like parents, may require bags. Much like the issue with switching all plastic straws to paper straws, using no bags or paper bags can inconvenience or even do harm to certain demographics.
Sometimes cheap plastic bags are just better than paper ones.
I’m not advocating that we stop cutting down on our plastic bag usage, I think it’s very important that we do so. But the conversations around climate change and environmental preservation are nuanced and ethically complex.
I see arguments about the environment along the lines of “We should just do X,” whether that be veganism, solar panels, or public transport. When we do this, we generalize — we forget about allergies, poverty, health, location, and all the other factors that influence how people live.
We want a better future for everyone — saving our planet can’t cost people their lives.
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So what do you think — paper bag or plastic bag?
