When measuring the effect on the environment one needs to think whether it degrades, its weight, its recyclability, and how much energy was needed to make it. Newspapers and plain paper are easy to recycle but what about packages and disposable products
Wrapping up your groceries . Which is more environmentally sound a) plastic packages b) paper packages c)roughly the same ?
פלסטיק או נייר
הולכים לסופר - בישראל מה יותר ידידותי לסביבה? א) סקית מפלסטיק, ב) סקית מנייר, ג) זהה בערך?.
כשמודדים את מידת הידידות של חומרים משונים לסביבה, צריך לחשוב האם החומר מתקלה, מה משקלו, וכמה אנרגיה נדרשת כדי לייצר אותו. עיתוניםוסתם נייר קלים למחזור . אבל מה עם כלים חד פעמיים או אריזות?.
Should we use paper or plastic bags?
Wrapping up your groceries. Which is more environmentally sound?
A) Plastic packages
B) Paper packages
C) Roughly the same
When measuring the effect, one needs to think whether it degrades, its weight, its recyclability, and how much energy was needed to make it.
The short answer is both have their advantages and disadvantages so c) is the right answer
Paper has the advantage that it can be recycled more easily. In Israel 60%+ of paper is not recycled, so it rots in landfills and gives off methane.
By contrast , less energy is needed to make a thin plastic bag than a thicker paper bag. So there are less greenhouse gases in manufacture. Plastic takes up less space in the landfill and is generally inert giving off less methane.
It could be said that paper is better for the environment, and plastic bags for climate change.
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#plastic bags and climate change
