Carrier bags

JaneDoeJohnDoe

Morrison's  has announced  it is planning  to drop all bag for life bags that are plastic switching to strong paper ones after a trial. 
They claim will reduce plastic use but my point for discussion is surely that will involve more lorries to transport as paper bags weigh more than plastic ones hence heavier loads  & larger carbon footprint?
Any boffins out there that can do the science & give an answer?

od244051

Paper bags are useless in the rain. Have seen Primark bags falling apart in the rain.

KxMx

Yes it reduces plastic waste but paper bags are not a green alternative, they have many downsides most of which are harmful to the environment.
PR stunt. 

pumpkin89

Paper bags are several times as bad from a carbon footprint point of view - as you say, they are much heavier and bulkier to transport, and producing paper is more energy-intensive than producing plastic.
On the other hand, they are more easily recyclable and less harmful to wildlife when littered.  I guess that means either could be argued to be more environmentally friendly, depending on which aspect of the environment you look at.

Bacman

...including how much of those new bags are from recycled paper otherwise it just means more trees to die as a result and the wildlife their clearing will make. Also 50p a bag??? 

Anyway, not a problem, i've amassed a lot of plastic bags from online deliveries, I use them for packaging things I sell on ebay and also use the bags when I go to shops again properly, as I did before. I only dispose of bags when they are ripped and even past the point of using a padding for posting items in (to save using something else).

mikb

According to BBC News story on this, part of the justification for this is that "there is evidence that consumers get a bag for life and only use it once before discarding it", so as usual, people doing the right thing and re-using them lose that option because some people are apparently too stupid to understand how to re-use a plastic bag.


In other (fake) news, there is evidence that some people think that anything past its Best Before date is toxic and must be thrown away, and that if a banana has a single spot of brown on it, it's mouldy/gone off. So from September, Morrisons will stop selling all foods that have BB dates, and bananas, to help reduce food waste and save the planet.

newlywed

od244051 said:

Paper bags are useless in the rain. Have seen Primark bags falling apart in the rain.

I wouldn’t want to wait 20 mins at the bus stop in the rain with paper bags with tins and veg in... either the contents won’t make it to the bus or else when I get off the bus, then its likely that my shopping will roll round the bus as I stand up to get off!

It’s one way to persuade people to bring their own bags!

badmemory

Don't they have to donate the profit from plastic carriers?  What happens to the cash from paper ones?  Am I cynical?  You bet I am!

p00hsticks

badmemory said:

Don't they have to donate the profit from plastic carriers?  What happens to the cash from paper ones?  Am I cynical?  You bet I am!

Only for the single-use ones I think - we're talking about the bags for life here. It's a pity because we love the Morrisons ones and have about a dozen around the house holding various bits and bobs 

GaleSF63

As well as lasting longer in the environment, plastic bags do have a longer useful life than paper ones. I use them a lot round my home - with a stick in one hand and often using furniture to support me with the other, I can put things in a plastic bag and hook it over my wrist, or even throw it in the direction I'm going if the contents are suitable - washing etc.. Some bags are used dozens of times like this or for taking recycling and then bringing the bags home. Their last use tends to be as a rubbish bag.  I don't think paper ones would last long - probably wouldn't be able to tie them up before throwing them across the floor either!

At the moment with all the bags from online deliveries where they had previously stopped using them, my home resembles a plastic bag emporium.  Luckily they don't take up a lot of room and they will get used gradually. 

However there's just as much plastic in them when they do eventually reach the end of their useful life...

Socajam

I agree with Morrison's and they should charge for the bag as well - 25 pence should do it.
We are the most wasteful species on planet earth