Plastic bag ban – is it REALLY eco friendly?
Following Chandigarh, the state of Punjab too is considering a complete ban on plastic bags. While Chandigarh has already gone ahead with the ban on plastic bags, the Punjab assembly debated a resolution on ban of plastic bags last week. The issue remains – will plastic bags be replaced by paper bags? • As has been the experience in Chandigarh, paper bags which had virtually disappeared from the scene have staged a massive comeback. By all standards, Paper bags are less eco friendly than plastic bags. Consider this • Paper bags consume 4 times more energy during production than plastic bags. • Paper bags produce 70 % more air pollutants than plastic bags. • Paper bags produce 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags. • A kilo of paper requires 85 times more energy for recycling than a kilo of plastic. • Paper bags weigh more plastic bags and consume more space in landfills. • Finally, paper bags are not being decomposed because modern urban land fills at least in the US are des
