Paper Bags Vs Plastic Bags

Paper Bags Vs Plastic Bags

Plastic bags and paper bags are used for various purposes such as for shopping, packaging, disposal, carrying and transporting of products from one place to another etc. Millions of people all over the world uses plastic bag as compared to paper bag because they are densely used everywhere.

The manufacturing process of plastic bags consumes less energy but they have an adverse effect on the environment than paper bags.

These plastic bags are generated from the natural resources like petroleum as well as through natural gas because both resources are easily available in a plenty of amount and are cheaper than paper bags. However, paper bags are manufactured by the tree named as “Pulpwood” and they consumes 4 times more energy than plastic bags. Furthermore, the paper bags are more environmental friendly due to less harmful pollutants used in its production process than plastic bags.

The ecologists all over the world share their views on how to save nature, overcome the threats of global warming and ablation, and protect the environment against human activities in general. And governments, in their turn, take numerous legal steps to support the solution of the environmental problem caused by human activities. However, these two sectors do not pay much attention to the fact that even such small things like paper or plastic bags can influence the environment.

Though such countries like Italy, Ireland, China, or South Africa have already approved the legislative acts prohibiting or limiting the use of plastic bags, their activities are not enough for people to realize what type of bags, plastic or paper, are more dangerous for them as well as for the environment they have to live within.

There is a tendency to exaggerate the effects produced by plastic bags on the environment in comparison with paper bags. Among such factors like slow decomposition, energy-consuming production, pollution of the environment, marine life in particular, and not biodegradable nature of plastic bags prove the harmful nature of the product; but the same factors and harmful effects may be applied to paper bags.

The evaluation of all these factors, processes, and even the economic issue should be made to define less harmful material for people to rely on. Though the production of plastic bags is frequently banned nowadays because of considerable harm to the animal world and marine life, the effects of this product on people and the environment seem to be less harmful than those of paper bags; therefore, it is necessary to develop some new approaches to plastic bags’ production and utilization and provide people with clear instructions on how to benefit from plastic bags and make them less harmful to nature.

Despite the common opinion that the use of natural materials is a more ecologically-friendly option in manufacturing, energy- and water-consumption rates coupled with wastes produced to prove that plastic is still a greener option in comparison to paper.