Item B: Plastic Bag Ban - Laserfiche WebLink

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Life Cycle Impacts Both the plastic and paper bag industries are resource intensive. These impacts range from those associated with raw material extraction (timber, oil, and natural gas) to the impacts associated with the production and distribution of the products (e.g. energy and water use and air emissions-including greenhouse gasses). Figure 1 below shows the comparative impact from single use plastic and paper bags. Figure 1: Comparison of Impacts from Paper and Plastic Single Use Bags Source: (Dart, 2009) There is no clear “best choice” between using paper or plastic single use bags. For instance, while there may be less energy and water use in the production of plastic bags than in paper bags, paper bags come from a renewable resource, are biodegradable, and have a greater carrying capacity than plastic. The Oregon DEQ addresses the issue of LCA’s for single use bags on its website (DEQ, 2011), captured here: “Much has been made of competing claims of “greenness” between paper and plastic single-use bags. These claims are sometimes derived through studies called life cycle analyses, or LCAs. LCAs can be a useful way to understand products’ environmental impacts. DEQ has not commissioned its own LCA of grocery bags. It has reviewed several bag LCAs prepared by other organizations (governments and industries). From this review, it is clear that several important variables can significantly affect results. They include:  The number of plastic bags required to replace one paper bag (or vice versa).  Consumer behavior regarding reuse of plastic and paper bags (for example, as trash can liners), and how consumers would respond if single-use plastic checkout bags were no longer available.  Current and future recycling rates, and how the benefits of recycling are accounted for in the analysis.  How increases or decreases in paper use affect the amount of carbon stored in forests. 5 | Page