Lifestyle, environment: single use plastic, part 1: paper vs plastic

Self-tutoring about environmental concerns: the tutor mentions plastic bags vs paper.

I’m not sure exactly what the regulations are, but it seems to me that, shopping nowadays, in most cases, one needs to bring their own bags, buy re-usables at the till, or just wheel the goods out in a cart and load them, loose, into the car. I’ve done all three; now I typically remember to bring bags with me.

There’s at least one place I know that still offers paper bags, for a minimal charge. I like paper bags, so choose that option, sometimes. Even there, though, I often bring my own bags, since I’ve been trained now to be in that habit.

I seem to recall a time when, where I lived, all grocery bags were paper. For department stores, apparently, it was the same. However, plastic bags made a splash, in my world, in the late 70s. With their gloss and strong colours, they stole the show. Department stores seemed to embrace them before grocery stores, as I recall.

We all knew at the time that most plastic doesn’t degrade the way paper does, so that the plastic bags could pose a pollution problem, if one thought about it.

Changing from paper to plastic bags is one example of society embracing a change that wasn’t for the better, in my opinion.

Source:

greencalgary.org

canada.ca