Use the Right Bag - Paper or Plastic?
Your hybrid car's waiting in the lot. Your groceries are certified and carbon neutral. But wait, paper or plastic? Sometimes, in a carry out world, there isn't a lesser evil.
The average American family of four tosses out about 1,500 plastic bags a year, and each one can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Thats quite a legacy. most of these bags aren't biodegrading: the plastic bags and fossil fuels either. The bags are manufactured from crude oil and natural-gas derivatives, to the tune of 12 million barrels per year.
Paper bags are biodegradable, which counts for a lot, but the energy, chemicals, and water - not to mention trees, consumed in making them - amount to an even bigger drain on the environment.