one thing which doesn't seem to mentioned here is that paper bags are not a one-to-one replacement.
a plastic bag is a useful item that is used over and over again.
a paper bag is an awful noisy, loud and inflexible item that is immediately discarded after use. even people that would be willing to use them more than once (i am definitely not), cannot do that due to how easy they get torn.
so, instead of buying a handful plastic bags per year, i now have to buy hundreds of paper bags.
even accounting for improved recyclability, is it really a net-benefit if the amount of required items (paper vs plastic) increases for a factor of around 20 - 40?
a plastic bag is a useful item that is used over and over again.
a paper bag is an awful noisy, loud and inflexible item that is immediately discarded after use. even people that would be willing to use them more than once (i am definitely not), cannot do that due to how easy they get torn.
so, instead of buying a handful plastic bags per year, i now have to buy hundreds of paper bags.
even accounting for improved recyclability, is it really a net-benefit if the amount of required items (paper vs plastic) increases for a factor of around 20 - 40?