The Energy Consumption Related to Paper and Plastic Bag Use
One of the primary reasons that people are now using reusable shopping bags is that they consume far less energy in the long run than either paper or plastic single-use bags. The United States consumes about one billion plastic bags every year which requires over 12 million barrels of oil for production. Simply put, plastic shopping bags are an unnecessary use of finite resources when there is an economically and environmentally friendly alternative – reusable shopping bags.
Most people are surprised to learn that paper bags require more energy to produce than plastic bags, but they do. In fact, paper bags require nearly three and a half times as much energy than plastic. Paper bags also consume more fossil fuels and water during their production than plastic bags that can carry the same amount of stuff. In other words, paper bags are the least energy efficient of the group, although neither paper or plastic comes close to the benefits of using reusable bags for years.
Single-use compostable bags are also available in some places, although they are pretty energy intensive as well. While they are better for the environment in the later stages of their life (they obviously degrade faster and safer), they do require over 3 times the amount of energy to produce that plastic bags require.
In the end, if you had to pick one, regular plastic bags (polyethylene) are the most energy-efficient, but still fall short when compared to reusable bags. All single-use bags present a waste of energy and consumption of fossil fuels that can be avoided – so why not avoid it? The EPA estimated that one reusable bag only needs to be use 11 times to have a lesser environmental impact than disposable bags. Considering that most reusable bags last for several years, the benefits are easy to see. Using reusable bags will pay for itself in the long run as most stores offer discounts to people that bring their own bags. Additionally, the environmental benefits are invaluable.