SLYOU Magazine Issue 1 | Page 56

ENVIRONMENT SPOTLIGHT The answer is a mixed bag. By Claire Thompson quantity requires a lot of water, fuel and cut- is the most “sustainable”? It down trees. And they usually aren’t made really depends on how many from recycled material because new paper times you’re going to use it has longer, stronger fibers. Cloth bags are and, especially with plastic, typically made from cotton, a particularly how carefully you dispose pesticide-intensive and water-guzzling of it once its useful life is Q: I’ve heard that reusable shopping crop. Reusable bags made from non-woven over. Use the bags that you’ll bags can be less sustainable than polypropylene plastic are also common, reuse the most — and check plastic shopping bags. Is this true? and they’re actually less carbon-intensive out previous SAGE answers at stanfordmag.org for advice on Which shopping bags are most to produce. filling them with food that’s sustainable: reusable, plastic or paper as gentle on the environment bags? Reputation aside, single-use plastic bags as the carriers you’ve chosen. have the smallest carbon footprint, at A trip to the grocery store entails a least in terms of single-bag production. multitude of decisions. Many of us But that’s only the beginning. How we The Nitty Gritty are drawn to discount prices; claims of use and dispose of bags matters even Let’s dish the dirt on each type health benefits; bright, sexy packaging; more. of bag individually — then we and — recently — environmental can compare. considerations. But the decisions don’t Two of the most important end with the products themselves. considerations for the eco footprint of a Those of us striving to be green want bag (or any other item) are whether we Paper to make sure we’re using the most reuse it and, if so, how many times. An eco-friendly carrier. Thus, the question: exhaustive Environment Agency (U.K.) According to the previously paper, plastic or reusable cloth bags? report from 2011 found that paper cited U.K. study, it takes three bags must be reused at least three reuses of a paper bag to The plastic bag has a bad reputation. times to negate their higher climate- neutralize its environmental According to the United States warming potential (compared with impact, relative to plastic. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that of plastic bags). A cotton bag A bag’s impact is more than Americans go through hundreds of would have to be reused 131 times just its associated carbon Manufacturing billions of these each year. The result to break even with a plastic bag, emissions: a paper bag requires about has been called a “modern menace”, in terms of the climate impact of four times as much water as with stray bags gathering in the streets, producing each bag. Of course, a plastic bag. Additionally, the ocean and landfills, where they endanger plastics can be reused as well — fertilizers and other chemicals wildlife and never biodegrade. They can they just don’t look as trendy. used in tree farming and paper be recycled but usually aren’t. manufacturing contribute to But the answer isn’t quite as acid rain and eutrophication of Paper bags are biodegradable and easy to complicated as these details waterways at higher rates. recycle or compost. But producing them in might make it seem. Which bag SAGE (Sound Advice for a Green Earth) is a project by advanced students in Earth Systems and other programs to answer sustainability questions. 54 SL-YOU | Business, People & Lifestyle www.slyoumag.com | July-August 2019