Introduction
Plastic pollution is one of the greatest environmental crises, we are facing right now and with the current rate of production, it’s going to worse in the future. If proper majors are not taken to reduce the usage, by 2050, there are more plastics will be swimming in the Ocean than fish. To solve the plastic problem, many people are in search of eco-friendly substitutes and are adopting reducing strategies to cut down the plastics, especially single-use plastic and plastic bags. One of the most famous alternative strategies is switching to paper bags. Interestingly, many people are unaware that paper bags are even more environmentally damaging than plastic bags. In this blog, we are going to discuss, how paper bags are disguised as the best alternative option and how switching to plastic bags is not as eco-friendly alternative as we expect.
Why brands are into paper bags?
Nowadays, people are more environmentally conscious and are ready to switch and adapt to any strategy that seems less environmentally damaging. People want to get rid of plastics and because of increasing consumer interests, businesses are trying to provide alternatives like biodegradable plastic or switching to paper bags, touting them as environmentally friendly alternatives.
Why do paper bags seem promising?
People are considering and supporting paper bags as the best solution to fight the plastic crisis because of the misunderstanding. Following are the properties of paper bags that disguise them as the best environmentally friendly alternative.
- Their biodegradability and ability to break down in the natural environment quickly as compared to plastic which has persisted in the environment for decades.
- Another reason is the manufacturing of paper bags, since paper bags are made up of renewable resources like trees, they are considered green alternatives. Trees can be replanted.
- Their recyclability, since paper seems easier to recycle as compared to plastic.
- Unlike plastic bags, paper bags are not getting attention by floating on the seas.
How paper bags are not any better than plastic bags?
Following are the concerns that make paper bags as guilty as plastic bags.
Raw materials are concerned
Plastics are made up of by-products of petroleum while paper bags are made up of trees. The raw materials required for manufacturing plastic are just “waste” which is not of any value and could have been burnt if not used in making plastic while manufacturing paper bags resulting in deforestation. So, economically and environmentally manufacturing paper bags requires more raw material, and that too the precious one- trees. Switching to paper bags will create more deforestation; consequently, multiple environmental challenges will be triggered.
More water is consumed
Manufacturing of Paper bags requires more water than the manufacturing of plastic bags. According to studies at least 4 times more water is used in making a paper bag. Consumption of such huge water also produces more waste.
More greenhouse gases will be generated
According to studies at least 3.1 times more greenhouse gases are generated in the process of paper bag production. How any process that produces that much greenhouse gases would be an environmentally friendly alternative?
High carbon footprint
Plastic being light-weighted and adjustable, requires fewer transportation rounds than paper bags. According to a study, the average size of a plastic bag is 8.12 grams while the size of a paper bag is 55.2 grams, how many more trips would be needed to transport paper, how much more fuel is burnt to supply the paper bags, and how much carbon dioxide is released in the process, you do the math. According to a study, the carbon footprint of a good quality HDPE plastic bag is 12.8 grams while the carbon footprint of a paper bag is 305 grams. If you are saying paper bags as an environmentally friendly approach. Think again!
Low Reusability
Paper being less durable cannot hold reasonable weight of items; gets torn easily and is not waterproof. These are the properties that make them misfits for multiple uses. Similarly, in some cases, more than one bag is required to hold a certain amount of items. These are the reasons which increase the usage of paper bags as compared to plastic bags.
Recycling is not a piece of cake
The weight of the paper bag is usually 8 times more than a plastic bag which makes it 8 times more difficult to transport and recycle. Paper bags are made up of fibers that are not easy to reproduce. Also, energy utilization is much more in the case of paper bags.
How biodegradability of paper is not helping?
Paper bags are biodegradable material but these are proclaimed as eco-friendly alternatives with the concept that they will break down when thrown in landfills but this is not the case. Biodegradation requires an oxygen-rich environment to work completely but landfills have an an-aerobic condition by default. It triggers the production of methane CH4 which is a strong greenhouse gas (GHG) that causes global warming and climate change. It also produces leachate which contaminates the groundwater.
Conclusion
The aforementioned reasons don’t support the idea of switching to paper bags as an eco-friendly alternative. How would anything that utilizes more energy, resources, water, transportation, and money, produces more greenhouse gases, and waste, and induces deforestation at an alarming rate be said as an eco-friendly alternative? Just because paper bags have many environmental cons, plastic bags do not become superior. Plastic bags have so many devastating impacts on the wildlife and environment and they need to be eliminated as soon as possible. Rather than switching to paper bags, people should support the idea of cloth tote bags since cloth bags have more durability and are washable. Tote bags can be used 100 times and their use will reduce the demand for plastic and paper bags and will solve numerous environmental issues.
