Paper or Plastic?

Honestly, whichever that will do the work is fine with me, may it be plastic bag or paper bag as I don't have any special preference

I prefer plastic even though it's not environmentally friendly because I'm the one who has to haul the groceries from the driveway into the house. I can't carry as many paper bags as I can with the plastic ones. Down here in my area they don't offer paper bags at any of the stores I shop at anyway. A good alternative would be a paper bag with a handle like the plastic ones have. Then I'd choose paper!

Hello snam23! I would probably use paper. It's amazing that you can actually choose there whether paper or plastic because here, they will automatically pack it with plastic. I will choose paper because we have so many plastics at home that I don't even know how to dispose it. Maybe I can do many things with paper.

If i could choose ,i prefer paper if it's as strong as the plastic.The reason is obvious,paper is more environmentally friendly than plastic.You should be happy because you have another choice besides plastic.In China,my motherland ,there are no paper bags available in the grocery store,only plastic ones.However,now the government implements a new policy ,that is ,all the plastic bags supplied in the grocery ,supermarket and so on requires extra money.So we are encouraged to take a cloth bag with us when we want to go shopping and it does works.From then on ,the consumption of plastic bags drops sharp.It may be inconvenient,but anyway ,it protects the environment,i approve.

Well i think that plastic are better because the paper are too stiff and kind of awkward... But usually they don't give a choice anyways. So it works out :)

Hi friend, I think paper is best choice....as plastic is a harmful for environment.... So save environment by using paper instead of plastic. Wish u happy green life.

i like plastic, because it can be recycle easily.

Seldom do I see or i do not see them in many stores around. Most are pretty happy witht he plastic being very versatile and handy. Paper bags are sometimes bulky since you could not easily fold it while a plastic when not in use could just be made smaller and convenient. With the strength that a plastic have you can always depend on it especially when you get it wet paper would be at a disadvantage. Although to date both are being discourage from being used because of environmental reasons. Plastic being not easily biodegradable would risk our environment to deteriorate while paper bags being biodegradable seems to increase deforestation since they are primarily wood base. There is a new wave being introduced today and that is the clothe bags. This is encourage because it is reusable and durable as plastic. But so far I have only seen a few using this method.

Most stores anymore don't even offer paper bags most only offer plastic bags. We don't have recycling in our area so we have to bag up our garbage and put it in garbage cans on the curb once a week. Last night was garbage night here but my husband was to tired to put out the cans. He fell asleep right after work. I wish we did have recycling options here as I hate harming the environment. We have average size garbage pails in our house in various rooms that the regular size grocery bags fit perfect in. When they are full I tie a knot in the handles and throw it out into the garbage cans outside. It saves on buying big garbage bags as well.

Neither! I have re-usable bags that are stronger and hold more stuff than either paper or plastic bags. We use them for all of our shopping. Neither paper nor plastic are truly environmentally sound choices, though of the two, paper is the better choice. Disposed of properly, plastic can be recycled but that process also uses resources that are best conserved if possible. Paper is biodegradable while plastic is not. What really bothers me, though, is when I see paper bags that are first put into the plastic bags! I understand that you get the best of both worlds, strength and convenience of handles, but what a WASTE! Sure, the stores charge $0.99 for the re-usable bags, but you only need to buy them once. Our local store also gives $0.05 credit on our final bill for each bag that we re-use. So, 20 shopping trips pay us back for the bags we bought.

That is a good question. Here where I live in supermarkets are all trying to go with those equal friendly reusable bags. It's funny that trying to do is switch over to these bags but yet they charge 99¢ for each bag! I simply prefer the good ol plastic bags

No grocery store here in Philippines offer paper for groceries. Paper bags are only used in boutiques and clothing stores. Some also use paper bags but they are very rare. Even in some food chains they never use paper for packaging. If I were to choose of course I want paper more because it is environment friendly. But problem is they do not offer or use that. I want a paper bag that is strong and can hold heavy objects.

I will use both, but I prefer the paper, as paper is more environmental friendly, and also can be burned in a burning barrel. Plastic leaves an odor when being burned. Also paper will break down at a garbage dump, and plastic does not break down.

Well in the place where I am living currently, we are not given options. We are given only plastic bags. I would prefer plastic bags (even though I am concerned about the environment) because they are much lighter than the paper bags and are easier to carry around. But, if I were to take the environmental factor into consideration I would prefer the paper bags. But plastic bags have slight edge over them. It is like 50-50 preference. Cheers and Luck !!

by the way, there is already what we call "biodegradable plastics" i wonder how can they be composted..

Well, I'm an environmentalist, so I would prefer paper bag to plastic. One of my frustrations is that here in the Phils., we don't have much choice. Almost every purchase uses a plastic bag, and they are unfriendly to the environment. If I had my way, I would ban the use of plastics forever. I know that this may just be a voice in the wilderness, but political will will make these things possible. So next time someone asks me, paper or plastic, the answer is loud and clear: we just want to be friendly to the environment.

i'll choose paper since it doesn't harm the environment.

Normally, people prefer plastic, including me. It is really convenient to carry things around in it. There is a downside to using plastic, i.e. it is non-biodegradable and it damages the environment. The government here in India is really concerned about it and now they have banned the use of plastic bags. Thus, now we do not have an option. We get paper bags from shops.

plastic. because i always have a dozen use for them after the grocery trip. like collecting the garbage stuff. plastic is reusable. as long as plastic is used for its purpose and not "wasted" too much, i don't think it should be much of a problem to the environment... you know, just use it in moderation i guess??

I have to say that I like paper better. Not only is it more eco-friendly, but it stores neatly. They are a lot more useful when your doing crafts with the kids. You can use them as a place mat for sloppy things because they lay flat. You can wet them and crumble them up and to make leather looking costumes for plays or dress-up. You can use them to make masks....I really wouldn't want to try that with a plastic bag. Anyway....that's my preference.