Paper or Plastic? Neither

Two months ago, I purchased a small cart to help transport groceries home from the store. The cart is a fine enough mesh so I instantly stopped bothering with bags. For many of you who are rattled with the paper versus plastic decision now is your time to think outside the box!

The Natural Resources Defense Council recommends neither paper nor plastic. Plastic pollutes and floats toward the nearest tree branch, but 10 billion paper bags each year use about 14 million trees. The council suggests that if you can’t bring your own bag, the best choice is one you will, for sure, either reuse or recycle.

Plastic bags are far more trouble than you may think. Right now, up to 100 billion are used each year in this country, and they make bringing groceries home (especially in the rain) extremely easy. But they also choke wildlife, create litter and produce a large amount of waste for generations to come. It also takes 12 million barrels of oil to make a year’s supply!

The plastic bag, like the plastic water bottle, has plagued environmentalists for years but has only recently worried consumers. The way to correct the problem is to bring your own bag (or cart) with you!