Paper or plastic?

by Nikki Tundel, Minnesota Public Radio

The question is simple: paper or plastic? But choosing the right answer can be complicated. Just what is the impact of the choice you make in the checkout line?

St. Paul, Minn. — Americans use nearly 40 billion grocery bags each year. Only one percent of shoppers rely on reusable cloth or net bags. That means the vast majority of consumers carry their purchases away in paper or plastic bags.

So, which is the better choice: paper or plastic? The answer depends on which criteria you find most important.

It takes four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to make a plastic bag. But most plastic bags are made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource.

Paper bags are much easier to recycle than plastic ones. But 14 million trees are cut down each year in the United States to fulfill the demand for paper bags.

Reporter Nikki Tundel talked to both shoppers and researchers to try to get to the bottom of the great supermarket debate.