Paper or Plastic: The debate gets hotter!

July 2, 2009 - PRLog -- There's more to it than what meets the eye in assuming its more environmentally beneficial to use paper over plastic bags. The debate is  hotter than ever these days due to increasing awareness about the detrimental effects of plastic bags.

There are two camps in this debate. Lets analyze what these two different trains of thought have to offer over what's going to be a long term solution to the problem.

There is one camp who advocate the use of paper over plastic just becasue paper breaks down rather quickly and bio-degrades naturally over time whereas plastic doesn't. Plastic threatens wildlife along coastlines, clogs drains, causes uncountable number of landfills being filled every year and a score of other damaging effects on our environement.  Plastic doesn't biodegrade, it photodegrades where the sun breaks it into smaller pieces over a long period of time. It can take upto a 1000 years for a high density plastic to photodegrade. Paper on the other hand is naturally bio-degradable. So, the "Paper Camp" contends that by using more paper bags, we can considerable reduce the damage to our planet.

Or is it? The other camp says a big "NO" and defends it stance by highlighting the fact that it wastes more energy to make a paper bag than a plastic bag and to recycle it thereafter. They say that people don't realize how big a footprint the paper industry has. To make all the bags we use each year, it takes 14 million trees and creates 70 percent more air pollution than plastic. Production of paper uses four times as much energy as it does to make plastic bags. Furthermore, paper takes much more landfill space than plastic considering that 2,000 plastic bags weigh 30 pounds, 2,000 paper bags weigh 280 pounds.

So, what's the answer? The answer lies in the simple mantra of reuse and recycle. The answer to all our problems is to use reusable bags which are sturdy enough to be used again and again and are also compact enough to be carried along all the time. There are a lot of such bags out there but the most impressive of them has to be by Envirosax carried at www.TerraTrendz.com. They offer shoppng bags that are sturdy enough to handle upto 40lbs yet compact enough to fit in your purse with rolled size of 4" x 1.5". They have been tested to ensure they do not pass toxic heavy metals into the food they are carrying and are printed using vegetable and soy based dyes, which are environmentally friendly. They can last up to 5 years or more and can be washed just like any other fabric.
There are many other alternatives that are available at www.TerraTrendz.com like the Ile St Marie tote which has received a lot of publicity from such esteemed publications like Oprah's O magazine and celebrity magazine OK.
In the end it boils down to an individuals own committment towards the environment. If you're dedicated enough to consciously make an effort to reduce your footprint, you're a Hero.

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Terra Trendz is a place where you can find green yet fashionable handbags, jewelry and other accessories which are recyled, handmade or fairtrade.
We believe that nobody should have to choose between keeping it green and keeping ones' style.