Are Paper Grocery bags really Eco-Friendly?

In comparison with plastic, paper bags are undoubtedly more eco-friendly. Firstly, they are made up of trees that can be replanted. Secondly, paper industry employs a lot of labor so buying paper grocery bags is a big way of supporting them to earn their living. Paper bags are also biodegradable (a plastic bag would still be in a landfill 1,000 years from now). But did you know that about 1/3 of our waste is paper and paperboard? So, if we want to reduce the amount of waste on earth, we have to reduce the use of paper. This is what this article deals with and also provides you with sustainable, innovative and more eco-friendly solutions.
As mentioned earlier, if we want to go green then we will have to work on the maxim of reduce, reduce and reduce! There are innumerable ways of reducing the amount of waste we produce. One of the most significant ways is to use grocery bags made of cloth instead of paper because experts believe that packaging including paper grocery bags makes up about half our garbage by volume and one-third by weight. Ask yourself, what do you do when your paper grocery bag gets torn or wet? The answer is simple. You throw it away and get a new one. So imagine how much paper you are wasting and how many trees get cut for all this? The figures are beyond our calculation.
So which is more eco-friendly? It is switching over to cloth bags because they are a chic, affordable and convenient. There are a lot of reusable bags available both at the markets as well as online. Some are expensive high fashion options, and some for $1 at your local grocery store. Cloth bags are waste-less. They can be rolled up into a compact shape and can be kept in a purse, pocket or glove box - you can always have them with you. They have more capacity then paper grocery bags. Some of them are designed to hold up to 25 pounds. In addition, they can be easily carried on your shoulder and are thus not a fatigue like paper bags.
Cloth bags have a great advantage for they can be washed and re-used and thus last very long. In a nut-shell we can say that though paper bags are a better option as compared with plastic bags but the former are not as eco-friendly as are cloth bags. Many companies are coming up with bright eco-friendly ideas about cloth bags. For example, I recently visited a website that sells cloth bags with eco-friendly messages printed on them. It is indeed a very good option to create public awareness. It feels great that you are being eco-friendly and yet appear fashionable. I therefore advise folks who are reading this article to waste less plastic, paper and other items that clog landfills, eliminate trees and pollute our earth. Go for grocery carriers that help you reduce, reuse, recycle and recover. In short, go Green and Happy shopping!
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