Some plastic bags greener than paper

What we all know:

People are part of nature and it is of major importance for us is to keep the world clean and healthy. As our society becomes more and more consumer-orientated this causes a serious problem - the volume of generated waste permanently increases. A large part of it comes from packaging, not from the products themselves.

What most of us don't know:

One of the most common ideas is that paper bags should take the place of plastic ones. Most people, in fact, have the misconception of referring to all bags made of plastic as simply "plastic bags". This is not correct.

Modern technology has made it possible to produce these bags in degradable and bio-degradable polyethylene which is guaranteed to disintegrate or to revert to compost within a couple months of being exposed to the elements. Hence a definite distinction must be made between a "harmful plastic bag" and an "eco-friendly polyethylene bag".

Here are just a few logical facts which incidentally are also confirmed and accepted by international pro-environment organisations:

• A paper bag is about five times heavier than a polyethylene one and therefore paper bags require larger storage space and generate a bigger waste volume. This is a very important negative factor indeed, as nowadays storage is rather costly and places for waste-sweeping and conservation hard to come by.

• For the production of polyethylene packaging, 50 per cent less energy resources are required as compared to paper. That means less indirect pollution from power stations.

• Easy tearing and low tolerance of humidity do not permit use of paper bags in all spheres of application.

• The increased consumption of paper has always been associated with chopping down of tropical forests - the lungs of the planet.

• Polyethylene bags do not excrete injurious substances and do not pollute nature chemically. Water-soluble emissions from the solving of paper bags are 94 per cent higher than from polyethylene ones.

• Polyethylene bags allow multi-usage, to the contrary of paper. Even the smallest polyethylene bag could be used for garbage collection in the office or at home.

• Apart from just bags, polyethylene can be compressed in transport. Unlike paper and cardboard, this makes it possible to fit a larger volume inside trailers and containers, consequently reaping lower transportation costs and having less of those noisy, fuel-thirsty and polluting lorries on our roads.

So let us not be prejudiced and tread cautiously before imposing any directives, without distinction and across the board, on all "plastic" bags, irrespective of whether they are eco-friendly and not. Trying to eradicate this form of packaging without properly educating ourselves and evaluating the real consequences beforehand would just be leaving the packaging industry with no option but to opt for paper, at a much higher cost, both economically and physically. Such added costs will eventually be borne by the consumer.