Why are paper bags better for the earth than plastic?
Forests are a renewable resource that can also be sustainable if they are maintained responsibly, even though their production necessitates the felling of trees. In addition, carbon footprints are balanced out when new trees are planted to make up for those that have been cut down. Not to mention that planting new trees lowers the pace of land erosion by shielding the soil from the effects of rain, that trees offer energy-saving shade that reduces global warming, and that trees establish habitats for hundreds of different species of animals and plants. A recent government report stated that the United Kingdom would fail to meet almost all of its nature targets for 2020. The report noted that this would occur because, as a nation, we continue to fail to protect our threatened species, stop land degradation, reduce agricultural pollution, and increase funding for green schemes. This is fantastic news in light of this report.
These days, the vast majority of brown paper bags are produced utilising a combination of virgin raw materials and recycled materials rather than just pure materials alone. This benefits the environment because manufacturers don't need to cut down as many trees to make their brown Kraft paper bags (which also prevents pollution as the need to collect new raw materials is reduced). They don't need as much energy to make them, reducing the greenhouse gases their factories emit. Similarly, reducing the amount of trash produced can be accomplished by employing a mix of recycled and virgin resources.
Paper bags are produced from organic elements, which, when disposed of in ideal settings, degrade faster than plastic bags. Paper bags will biodegrade in around 16 weeks in compost piles and between 2 and 6 weeks in landfills, compared to standard plastic bags, which can take anywhere from 10 to 1,000 years to biodegrade. Not only are brown paper bags capable of decomposing more quickly, but when they break down, they do not release toxic chemicals back into our air, soil, or waterways (unlike plastic). If given the proper environmental conditions, the decomposing waste does not release methane gas into the atmosphere. Brown paper bags are an excellent alternative to plastic bags because they can decompose more quickly and do not leak toxic chemicals when they break down.
Paper carrier bags are more extensively recyclable than plastic bags are, which is essential for our planet because when we recycle paper bags, we help conserve energy; water; and landfill space. In addition, paper bags are more environmentally friendly than plastic bags. Not to mention the fact that recycling any product cuts down on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that we produce and that using recycled fibres is a resource that is both sustainable and cost-effective.
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