Quote:
Originally Posted by aussiblue
Oops that was supposed to be: "I agree it would be better to ban all plastic bags and go back to good old biodegradable brown paper bags made from recycled paper; all plastic bags pose an environmental pollution risk. People of my vintage would remember when things came in either waxed paper, brown paper bags, recycled newspapers or "butchers paper" (white or brown). It worked fine and was biodegradable and at least with the brown paper items was often made from recycled paper. There was also cellophane (made of wood pulp and cotton) which is 100% biodegradable. Of course it wasn't fault free; I suspect a lot of the recycling involved the used paper being used as fire lighting material for polluting wood stoves and heaters.
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Have you seen the figures for the amount of energy used to make these alternatives? Even the thick reusable bags they sell for $1. If you concern is for the environment then it is worth looking up. For example 4 times the energy to make a paper bag as opposed to a thin plastic one.