Paper is without doubt environmentally safer. It is capable of biodegrading into natural soil within ninety days. Moreover, it is made by a renewable resource, trees. Easy to be recycled, every ton of recycled paper, it saves about three cubic yards of landfill space. Plastic is made of polyethylene, which apparently is eighty percent non-recyclable. Plastic is also made of oil, a non-renewable resource. To create one plastic bag, toxic chemicals are involved, producing more pollution. Paper is also very convenient, strong and sturdy. At schools, paper bags are used to take papers home because they are sturdier. A number of projects also need to use paper bags to make objects. Using paper makes it easier when shopping, because the food won’t slide out of the bag easily.
Since Paper or Plastic is such an active debate, there are obviously disagreements to using paper. Plastic supporters say that since paper is so bulky and large, it fills up landfill space, and results in closing down the landfill. According to Reuseablebags.com, it takes 594 BTU’s to create one Safeway plastic bag, and 2511 BTU’s to create one Safeway paper bag -- more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag. However, if a landfill closes, the paper will eventually biodegrade into the soil. Also, it does take more energy to produce a paper bag, but this comes to use. Durable, strong, very reusable bags are used almost everywhere in your everyday life. Paper is very convenient.
In addition to the eco-friendliness, how convenient paper bags are, another supporting piece of information is that plastic is proven to be incredibly harmful to the ecosystem. Since plastic bags are used too often, many of them are littered onto the street. This is a major problem; the plastic can get blown away and later end up inside a bird’s throat, choking and killing them. Ending up clogging roadside drains, floating on the high seas, and going into sea turtle bellies are all possible occasions that could happen from plastic bags. On land, plastic can wrap around plants, not giving them any carbon dioxide. Scientists say that probably every piece of plastic produced is still somewhere on the planet. We need to stop filing our beloved earth with junk we can all save.
Paper is certainly a better choice over plastic because of the many reasons stated above. Paper is environmental friendly, strong and sturdy, and can biodegrade fast. Plastic bags are destructing our astonishing planet earth. With pros and cons, through the long race, paper surely wins.
