TREEHUGGER: PAPER VS PLASTIC

Paper: the process

• TONS of trees are collected and dried for at least 3 years
• Heavy machinery cuts tree into little pieces and prepares them to become bags.
• Chemicals are mixed in with the wood and they cook for a few hours until a pulp.
• Finally, the wood is washed with clean water and spread over wire to form paper.

What happens after?
After you use your paper bag, a few things can happen.

Composting

• The bag CAN be composted, but only if there isn't too much ink on the bag (logos, etc).
• It takes a few months for the bag to become soil which is filled with nutrients.

Otherwise, the paper bags can be recycled and reused or thrown away

THE PLASTIC BAG

How it's made

• Oil!
• Uses energy to warm it to a polymer, where it's then shaped to a bag
• Non-renewable and the biggest input is electricity
• Polyethylene is the main plastic used
• The oil needs to be heated to 750 degrees fahrenheit

Plastic bags can be recycled, but they need to be melted again and shaped into a new shape. There are also biodegradable plastic bags.

THE RESULTS

Paper bags can hold up to 50%-400% more depending on how you pack it, but it uses significantly more energy.

Although plastic bags have a negative connotation, and they may not hold as much, they use significantly less energy and are recycled better than paper

Therefore, plastic uses less energy than paper!

THANKS FOR WATCHING