%26quot;Paper or Plastic%26quot;? Do you Bring Your Own Bag such as cloth or canvas, when you shop at the grocery store? Or do you reuse your old bags at the grocery store? Some stores will give you a refund of at least 5 cents per bag when you reuse.

Earth Day — April 22nd, 2008

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6 months ago

PLASTIC BAGS
— Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide.
— Plastics do NOT biodegrade. Rather, they photodegrade, a process in which sunlight breaks down plastic into smaller and smaller pieces.
— It can take up to 1,000 years for a high-density polyethylene plastic bag to break down in the environment.
— Plastic bags are on the top 10 list of most common trash items along the American coastline (both on land and in the water).

PAPER BAGS
— Paper bags generate 70 percent more air pollutants and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.
— 2,000 plastic bags weigh 30 pounds, 2,000 paper bags weigh 280 pounds. The latter takes up a lot more landfill space.
— It takes 91 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper. It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag. 7% 1 Vote

There already talks going on about removing plastic bags from stores because they pose a higher risk to the environment then paper bags. 0% 0 Votes

I bring a canvas bag 0% 0 Votes