Plastic bags may soon be non-existent in Austin grocery stores if the Bag the Bags coalition has its way. The organization is trying to get enough signatures for a petition in an effort of trying to ban plastic bags from grocery stores like H-E-B and gather a sufficient amount of money for a 500,000 canvas bag giveaway. A petition like this will help our environment by decreasing landfill space and encourage grocery shoppers to reuse paper bags which are more environmentally friendly. Paper bags are helpful to the environment because they help save more than 100 tons of waste that gets dumped in landfills. In heavily populated areas, preserving more than 100 tons of waste in landfills can save 10,000 dollars.
According to Rick Cofer, chairman of the Bag the Bags Coalition in Austin, said that {quote from rick cofer goes here}. Eleven barrels of oil are spared every one ton of recycled paper bags because paper bags, unlike plastic ones, aren't petroleum based. Seth Whaland, assistant service manager at HEB's Central Market says, “I prefer to use paper bags, because they do not fund oil companies, more easily recycled, and just hold more”.Paper bags are also more biodegradable because after being reused take about a month to decompose unlike plastic bags where only two percent of one-hundred billion are recycled properly, and take more than 1000 years to decompose. When producing paper bags, no toxic chemicals are needed, because it is just a combination of natural resources that come from trees. During the process of producing plastic bags, six of the top most hazardous chemicals, like CFC's, that deplete the ozone layer, are released as a result .
However, “plastic bag do have benefits” says Corrina Kester, staff adviser for the UT Environmental Center.For example, more plastic bags than paper can be made with the same amount of energy. Since it takes energy to produce both types of bags, it is more energy-conservative to choose plastic. It also wastes fewer resources, such as coal to make plastic bags in bulk than it does to make labor intensive paper bags. Reusing and recycling a ton of plastic bags can reduce three cubic meters of landfill space and save up to 20 trees. “One of the best ways to reduce use of this resource is to deter customers from using plastic bags by charging them extra,” said Kester “and when they are the only option in my house, I use them as trash bags.” When it comes to pricing, buying a plastic bulk only costs one cent, while one paper bag costs four cents. Plastic bags help the prevention of leaking foods and can be reused for purposes in the house whereas a paper bag can't.
“I've been using canvas bags from Whole Foods for several years.” Says Ashley Hernandez, a manager at Wal-Mart Super center. “They hold more, have a flat bottom for stability, and come with both handles and a strap for those on foot.” Like Hernandez, many people have taken an alternative, instead of choosing between plastic or paper.
