Paper vs Plastic

Category: Manufacturing, Pollution, Recycling

Last Updated: 28 Jan 2021

Pages: 2 Views: 590

Compare plastic bags to other alternative packaging, they are actually more environmentally friendly. They are lightweight, waterproof, hygienic and totally recyclable. They can be reused and they are made from a by-product of refining oil into petrol, so there is no waste from raw material. The plastic bags produce no greenhouse gases and less energy needed in the production. Through a lifecycle energy analysis, plastic is the better bag. At current recycling rates two plastic bag use less energy and produce less solid, atmospheric, and waterborne waste than a single paper bag.

It found paper bags to have a more severe environmental impact in 7 out of the 8 impact categories. Paper bags were found to be particularly harmful with respect to eutrophication of water bodies, water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and production of solid waste. Plastic bag VS Paper bag 1. The paper bag unit is about twice as energy intensive as a plastic bag unit. Paper 5 2. The weight of material used for paper bags is about 4 times greater than the weight of material used for plastic bags. 3.

The paper bag is 6 times heavier than the plastic bag and occupies roughly 10 times more space than plastic bags. 4. Plastic one trip bags have a lower environmental impact than paper one trip bags. Paper bags generate 70% more airborne pollution and 30 times more waterborne pollution than plastic bags. 5. The use and reuse of the plastic carrier bags: The supermarket carrier bag to be the most popular plastic bag to reuse. It is good news for environment for it will help to reduce the amount of waste we throw away. . Paper bags are 85 times more energy needed for recycling compared with plastic bags. 7. Degradability versus sustainability: All degradability involves the total loss of the basic materials and the creation of both the land and airborne pollution. Plastic films help to stabilize landfill and will not produce the ground-water system or the atmosphere. Paper in today's landfills doesn’t degrade or break down at a substantially faster rate than plastic ones

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