Paper bags, plastic bags which is more environmentally friendly

shopping bags, paper or plastic? Every time when we go to the supermarket shopping, maybe we will ask such a question. Because of paper and plastic impact on the environment each have advantages and disadvantages, and even some environmentalists were perplexed by the simple choice, too.

, experts say, paper bags of raw material is wood, the raw material of plastic bags is crude oil. Americans every year to use for production of shopping bags, manufacturers need to run out of 14 million trees, or 12 million barrels of oil. Air pollution brought by the production of paper bags, 70% higher than the production of plastic bags. But once produced, it is difficult to natural degradation plastic bags, they can exist for hundreds of years, or even thousands of years.

due to plastic bags cheaper production cost, American grocery stores tend to choose them. But the San Francisco are limiting consumer use of plastic bags. Starting in April this year, the city will only allow the use of biodegradable plastic bags or renewable paper bag. Biodegradable plastic bags can be decomposed in a few months rather than a few hundred years.

whether paper or plastic bags, environmentalists advocate is the same: should recycle them. They further point out that * good choice, of course, still use the cloth bag, and always take their own bags.

the following are some of the basic data: PK paper bag plastic bags

plastic bags:

& ndash; — Every year, around the world to consume 500 billion or 1 trillion plastic bags.

- — Not biodegradable plastic bags, but to photodegradation, under the action of the sun's rays, they can break down on its own.

- — High density polyethylene plastic bags after buried underground for hundreds of years won't break down.

- — Coastal areas in the United States, plastic bags is a common one of the ten kinds of garbage *.

paper bag:

& ndash; — Compared with the production of plastic bags, paper bag production will bring in 70% more air pollutants, 50 times more water pollutants.

- — About 30 pounds 2000 plastic bags, paper bags of about 280 pounds, 2000 abandoned paper bags will occupy larger landfill space.

- — The energy recycling one pound plastic bags, than to recycle the 91% less energy to 1 pound of paper bag; And the energies of a paper bag production, the production of a plastic bags more than four times the energy.