Paper or Plastic?

There are so many views about plastic grocery bags that it is time to comment on this subject.

The question is this:  What effect do plastic bags have on the environment and are some legislative folks ignoring the benefit they have for the consumer?  Personally, I like plastic bags and use them around the house and office to collect and contain all types of stuff prior to disposal. So plastic bags have a second shelf life.  Now to be fair, I do use paper bags for my old mail, newspapers and other non-food garbage but does it make sense to throw non-food items into paper bags for disposal in the waste stream?

Back to plastic bags, some people blame them for unsightly litter all over the neighborhood, but consider this, how did they get there? Are they harmful to animal life? I really don’t know as I have never seen any animal eat a bag!  What happens in the garbage landfill? .... Do they break down earlier than other materials? .... I doubt it as they need sunlight and exposure for decomposition.  Plastic in our landfills will still be around when our grandchildren are grown!

We are, of course, very lucky in Florida with FPL, the forward- looking utility company with some 13 incinerators, burning all the garbage and recovering energy, [plastic bags produce the same BTU value as natural gas] waste metals and of course slag, that wonderful product used for building roads.

Back to paper:   Manufacturing is not a clean process like plastic bags, and it requires a lot of virgin fibers for strength; bleach is required in a lot of the processes and to make paper, trees are needed.

The alternative offered to replace both plastic and paper bags is a woven cloth bag; however, the latest news is that these are walking bacteria cultures, and that is an unpleasant thought for anyone.

So let's keep the plastic bags and dispose or recycle them correctly to keep all parties satisfied.