paper vs. plastic
...is means it takes seven trucks to deliver the same mount of paper as one plastic delivery truck. Talk about a big waste of gas. Plastic bags cost about one fourth of a cent to make, while paper costs close to three cents. (Reusable bags, 2004)This is money we save as well as the storeowner. This is a lot of money that is going to waste considering that plastic bags are so much more practical than paper. It takes four times as much energy to produce a paper bag as it does to make a plastic one. According to the Plastic Recycling Directory, paper bags use 2,511 BTUs but plastic bags only use 594 BTUs. (Reusable bags, 2004) A BTU (British thermal unit) is a unit of energy equal to the work done by a power of 1000 watts operating for one hour. (Most paper comes from tree pulp, so the impact of paper bag production on forests is enormous.) In 1999, fourteen million tress were cut down to produce the ten billion paper grocer bags used by Americans that year alone. Paper bags also provide a global warming double whammy – forests have to be cut down, and they the subsequent manufacturing of bags produces greenhouse gases. It also takes 91% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper. In BTUs, that would be 17 for plastic and 1,444 for paper. (Reusable bags, 2004) You can use plastic bags for a lot of things. Plastic bags store less stuff than paper bags, but if it is filled to its limit, then the plastic doesn’t rip as easy. The plastic bag also has two handles that hang on the top of the bag and it makes it easier for you to carry and grip a plastic bag. You can carry 5 plastic bags compared to only two paper bags. This is also very practical because you can get your groceries out of your care a lot faster, after all grocery shopping is not the most fun thing to do. You can also use plastic bags to protect your dry cleaning from your wet towel in you gym bag, line your house hold waste baskets, and tote dry shoes to work on a rainy day. The majority of Kraft paper is made by heati...