Paper versus Plastic? Neither, of course!

As most of my followers know, I have been tracking how many bags I'm saving by using my reusable bags when shopping. For those that don't, catch up here: Down with Shopping Bags! Recently, I have learned some interesting facts. I volunteer at the Shedd Aquarium and recently worked an Eco-social they had, where I learned that the resources to make a paper bag including wood, energy and water far out way the recourses required to make a plastic bag! I was astounded that it takes over a gallon of water per bag! Yes, a GALLON, per bag!! So this made me want to find out more, because when I accidentally forgot my reusable bags, which is rare but does happen, I wanted to know what to use. One study I read noted that it takes 70% more energy to make a paper bag versus a plastic one! (Website sited) It also takes 91% less energy according to the EPA to recycle a plastic bag versus a paper! There are definitely pros and cons to either... THIS is a good one illustrating why plastic is better and unfortunately I couldn't find one that was very pro paper at all, must just said neither...

So which one do you choose? There is no simple answer but here is my opinion:

Reusable Bags: This is obviously our first choice, chose one that is recyclable or biodegradable at the end of its life though, watch out for the freebie ones.

After that I opt for:

Paper: because I have a compost during warm months and I never have enough "browns", other reasons would be if you need a weed block for your garden or have another use for paper bags like school books, roasting peppers, gift wrapping, etc.

Plastic: if you don't have any of the above needs for paper and promise to return them to the store for recycling then plastic is really your best option. Bringing it back for recycling is key here, so that it doesn't end up in the ocean or a landfill, and yes your bag from Chicago CAN end up in the Ocean...

Holiday Green Guide (Coupons)

As the nation gears up for black Friday, I thought this little coupon book might help steer some of us away from all the toys made and shipped from China and the like, and focus on the gifts we can buy that might help us further our goals in being kind to the environment. There are a number of great companies in there so feel free to peruse as it is free until December 31st.

http://www.holidaygreenguide.com/

Drop the Plastic Bag on Facebook

I was just sent this cause on Facebook and since I have a running blog on my experiences of trying to drop my plastic bag habit I thought I'd share it. Come join the cause.

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/11443

New Search Engine

My husband sent me this link after explaining to him this morning that plastic bags can not go into the recycling, as is common in almost all municiplaties, with a couple of exceptions of course. This search engine however, allows you to search for the nearest recycling facility that collects things that your local municipality may not if it does at all. For example ours does all plastics except styrofoam, #6 and plastic bags. I can search on this for the nearest one that excepts for example #6, for us it is 23 miles away, but at least we now know it is an option. They also have little helpful articles every week, like for example this week's was on composting. A good find!

http://earth911.com/

Commercial composting in Illinois

Illinois allows for local composting only, but on 08/13/09 Governor Quinn signed into law bill SB0099, now public act 96-0418. This bill will allow food waste to be commercially composted and sold all over the nation, a great benefit for anyone with food waste, farmers and the planet! This is a great new avenue for green jobs, since previously you could only compost locally, you could not transport or sell the composted materials. The bill is to take affect in January 1, 2010.

To read more: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=99&GAID=10&DocTypeID=SB&SessionID=76&GA=96

Support the latest Eco-bill in the Senate

We don't have a lot of time, so hurry and show your support.

http://act.repoweramerica.org/page/s/emailsenate

From Repower America:
Our Senators are getting back to work in Washington next week, and they've just announced that they'll be introducing their version of a clean energy and climate bill before the end of the month.That means there's still a narrow window of time to make sure they get it right. Tens of thousands of folks like you have already sent letters to their Senators asking them to seize this opportunity.In fact, we're only 30,000 letters away from reaching 100,000 -- that's a lot of people sending their voices directly into the halls of Washington. That's a powerful message.

Plastic Bag Update

For those that follow my efforts to never use a plastic bag again I wanted to send out a 13 month update. I have been tracking since 06/23/09 for mainly my purchases and some of our collective household purchases and have saved over 175 bags to date. For those that don't know what these bags do and that most municipalities DO NOT recycle them, including Chicago, see my original post: http://ordinarilygreen.blogspot.com/2008/11/down-with-shopping-bags.html

My total of saved bags as of 06/23/09 (stats kept since 08/06/09):

• 179 Plastic Shopping Bags
  
• 45 Fruit/Veggie Plastic Bags
  
• 19 Paper Shopping Bags