what are the advantages of paper against plastic.
Plastics are produced from the waste products of oil refining. There are environmental impacts associated with the extraction of oil, the separation of products in the refining process, and the manufacturing of plastics. Paper is produced from trees; environmental impacts include those associated with extracting timber and processing it for paper products. Again, the environmental impacts depend on whether the timber was obtained from a sustainably managed forest -- most industrial timber products in the U.S. come from plantations -- and the environmental management of the paper processing plant. Comparatively, plastic bags require less energy to produce. The disposal of bags entails additional environmental impacts. If landfilled, plastic bags are more environmentally benign than paper, as they require less space; paper occupies approximately half of overall landfill volume. Plastics do not biodegrade. Stray plastic bags, which have been estimated at one to three percent of the hundreds of billions that are produced each year, are now found almost everywhere on the planet. Plastic bags pose a threat to marine life, because, if ingested, the bags can block the stomach and cause starvation. Sea turtles, for example, mistake plastic bags for jellyfish. In 2002 a minke whale that washed up on a beach at Normandy was found to have 800 grams of plastic and other packaging in its stomach. Stray plastic bags can also clog sewer pipes, leading to stagnant, standing water and associated health hazards. In 2002, Bangladesh banned plastic bags after drains blocked by bags contributed to widespread monsoon flooding in 1988 and 1998. Ireland has decreased plastic bag consumption by placing a consumer tax on plastic bags. Perhaps the most strict plastic bag regulations are found in the Indian province of Himachal Pradesh, where people caught with plastic bags are fined $2000.
Paper is truly recyclable....plastic sits in dumps and waste sites for hundreds of years because it is not biodegradeable. It's not environment friendly and we as a nation are now trying to move to being a green, eco friendly environment. If you choose to use plastic, it's best to reuse them. Some grocery stores are now charging .10 cents for plastic bags. The best bags to use are the fabric grocery bags. Pier 1 sells them for $2 and some grocery stores (e.g. Bloom) sell them for $1.
