by 
The Curious Bag
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Plastic bags are more efficient in saving energy because of its lighter weight and its simpler recycling procedures than paper bags. Plastic bags save more resources than the paper bag industry.
Materials Used
Even though plastic is created from polyethylene, a material made from non-renewable crude oil, it uses much less human and natural resources than the paper bag industry. It takes four times the energy to make a paper bag as a plastic bag.
Recycling Energy Use
The process to recycle plastic uses 98 percent less energy than recycling paper bags.
Chemical Use During Recycling
It is much easier to recycle plastic because it merely involves a separation, heating and reforming process. A heavy chemical, bleaching and sorting process is needed to recycle paper bags.
Weight Matters
Transporting plastic bags is much more cost effective than paper bags. It takes seven trucks to transport the same number of paper bags as it does one truck of plastic bags. The light weight of the plastic saves thousands of fuel gallons used in transportation.
Impact
If plastic bags were replaced by paper bags on an equivalent product, trash weight would increase by 150 percent, packaging would weigh 300 percent more and energy consumed by the industry would increase by 100 percent.
Source:
Washingtonpost.com: Paper or Plastic?
Blog.greenfeet.com: Paper vs. Plastic -- The Shopping Bag Debate
Angelfire.com: Paper Vs. Plastic Bags?
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