More & more stores are encouraged to use bags made of recyclable paper, cutting down on plastic bags. Customers are also encouraged to get their own bag.
- Plastic bags cost about a paisa 50 each, paper costs about a Rs.2 and compostable bags can run as high as Rs.10 each.
- The bags also must be segregated from regular plastic, making recycling efforts more difficult.
Meanwhile:
- Paper bags generate 70 percent more air pollutants and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags, according to the Environmental Agencies.
- This is because four times as much energy is required to produce paper bags and 85 times as much energy is needed to recycle them.
- Paper takes up nine times as much space in landfills and doesn't break down there at a substantially faster rate than plastic does.
Public education campaigns about littering and recycling can help more than ineffective bans on products that are used every day by billions of people worldwide.
...Anand Varadaraja
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