"But, it's so much easier to just choose paper or plastic..."

Really?

What about what happens

after you take your groceries home?

Chemistry: Plastic Bags

The plastics used to make plastic bags break down quickly in the low temperatures of the ocean, adding their toxins and chemicals into the home of many species. Plastic bags are made through the polymerization of ethylene, which is a gaseous hydrocarbon found in petroleum. Polyethylene is a thermoplastic made from oil which could otherwise be used for more helpful ways. Also used to make the bags, petroleum is a non-renewable resource that should be used for other means of energy other than making plastic bags that will eventually end up polluting our world. The amount of plastic produced each year is the equivalent of dumping 12 million barrels of oil. Plastic bags make up over 10% of the debris washed up on the U.S. coastline. The ones that do not end up on the coastline continue to float in the oceans and cause the deaths of animals from over 200 species, such as turtles and dolphins. Resent research reveals that the inks and colorants used in these bags contain lead, a harmful toxin. When the bags are floating in the ocean, they begin to break down, omitting this toxin into the water. According to the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, more than a million birds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die every year from eating or getting entangled in plastic. Adding to this, plastic doesn’t biodegrade, which means that every plastic bag that has ever been used- unless burned in an incinerator so that its toxins pollute our air- is sitting in a landfill somewhere. While some people think they are saving paper by choosing plastic, the amount of oil that is required to create their idea of a “greener” bag is, in reality, doing anything but help. Trees, if taken care of properly, can be seen as a renewable resource; oil, however, is not grown in forests, or created anywhere else. The easy solution?: bring your own canvas bag to the food store so that these harmful toxins are not released into our air, and animals do not choke and/or die from the harmful plastic.

Chemistry: Paper Bags

In order to make paper bags, trees are required. In order to cut down these trees and operate the machines used to turn this wood into paper, oil is required. The creation of paper bags takes over 90% more energy than plastic bags. While the needs for creating paper bags are harmful enough, the result of where these bags end up is not any better. If not recycled, these paper bags end up in landfills, taking up much more space than plastic bags (2,000 plastic bags weigh 30 pounds, while 2,000 paper bags weigh 280 pounds!), as well as taking up to 1,000 years to biodegrade completely. And if you thought the water pollutants plastic bags contributed were bad, paper bags contribute 50 times more pollutants than plastic! When recycled, paper bags still have to go through an extensive process including even more energy- just one use, they’re recycled, and more energy is needed in order to destroy what was just created! Just because they are recycled, doesn’t make the result any more environmentally friendly.

The easy solution?: Reuse these paper bags multiple times, or, the better solution- switch to reusable bags! Energy is only required to create the bags, and they can be used as many times as needed. Strong and sturdier than the paper or plastic bags, they also hold more groceries.

Why wouldn't you choose reusable?