Is Anti-Plastic Anticlimactic?

Imagine you’re at your local grocery store, stocking up on all your essentials for the week. You get to the checkout, the cashier rings up all your newly-purchased food, and they ask you the interesting question, “Paper or plastic?” Now I myself used to work at a grocery store (my local ACME to be exact), and nearly everyone who said “paper” was much older than I, and mostly chose this bagging method simply because that was what they grew up with and were familiar with. Every once in a while, some people would ask for paper to use fewer bags and in turn, use less plastic, but I always wondered, were those plastic bags actually benefitting the environment? 

Pros of Disposable Plastic Bags:

• Plastic bags require 70% less energy and 96% less water to manufacture than the amounts necessary to make paper bags
• Plastic bags are 100% recyclable
• Once disposed of, plastic bags take up 9.3% less space than reusable bags in landfills 
• Are made with less plastic than reusable bags
  • In Austin, Texas after a bag ban, landfill waste instead increased because shoppers still threw out the thicker plastic reusable bags instead of standard plastic grocery bags, which take up less space
• Plastic bags are more durable than paper bags
  • They are less prone to tearing, easier to carry, and can be used in any weather
• Plastic bags can be repurposed
  • They are often used as trash bags, storage, and even cleaning up after dogs and other animals
• Plastic bags are cheap to produce and purchase
• The plastic industry employs over 1 million people in the US
• Plastic bags aren’t made of paper, so they do not potentially further increase deforestation

Cons of Plastic Bags:

• Most plastic bags are made out of polyethylene, which is manufactured using either crude oil or natural gas
  • Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year, which requires over 12 million barrels of oil to manufacture
• Although plastic bags are 100% recyclable, they require specified recycling locations and can’t be placed in regular curbside recycling bins
  • They also require a lot of energy to recycle
• Plastic bags are not biodegradable
  • They would take about 1000 years to decompose and leave behind toxic chemicals
• Plastic bags are easy to litter and have many unintended consequences
  • Plastic bags can contaminate the ocean and many food sources
    • Bags that reach the ocean begin to break down into small, microscopic pieces that are called microplastics and are consumed by sea life, which then travel up the food chain and into the fish we eat
    • It’s estimated that globally, people consume the equivalent of a credit card of plastic every week, and it’s expected that there will be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050
  • Microplastics also can get into the soil of the Earth, affecting the growing ability of our crops, and can contaminate the soil and waterways 

Summary:

Of all the practices I’ve examined thus far, the verdict has been quite clear. For electric cars and a plant-based diet, the choice is mostly clear from both an environmental and frugal standpoint. But for disposable plastic bags, there is not a clear consensus. While they are definitely harmful to the environment, there is not necessarily a clear choice for a more cost-efficient replacement for plastic bags. Reusable bags are definitely better for saving plastic, but there has not been a large enough push by the government and local municipalities to encourage people to purchase and wear out these reusable bags. They also take large amounts of energy and plastic and cotton to create, which can sometimes not be worth it if the reusable bags are not used enough times. For example, for a reusable bag to be worth it, it needs to be used at least 38 times. A paper bag should be used 43 times. And for a cotton bag to be worth the time and energy, it should be used over 7,100 times. But nonetheless, I believe reusable plastic bags can still be present in our society, but mostly for small purchases at gas stations/convenience stores purely for convenience.