Why you should use reusable paper bags instead of plastic

So you might be at the shopping counter, and it's common for the cashier to ask, "Paper or plastic?" Whatever you choose, you'll have your reasons for it. But I'm here to tell you why paper might just be better than plastic, to make having to choose which one on the next journey to the supermarket easier for you.

As you may know, plastic bags are seriously harmful for the environment and can take up to thousands of years to decompose, not if an unsuspecting animal eats it or shares it with its family. But the manufacturing process is also dangerous to Mother Nature. In the United States itself, almost two billion litres of oil is used to manufacture the annual amount of bags consumed. And the dangers of using that much oil causes a lot of other problems, including oil spills, endangered animals and waste of land. Only 3%  of the 3.92 billion plastic bags used each year by Australians are recycled, and it's said a good percentage of those never make it into recycling. Using paper bags, however, will greatly reduce this number, internationally even, and recycling paper is so easy that it's even possible to do it at home.

Reusable bags can be also extremely durable and won't tear as quickly as your average plastic bag. There are also several ways to recycle them, for things like arts and crafts to remaking it ino paper with other paper bags you may have saved up, to making flower pots. Paper bags are neat, stand up on their own and can carry many items with added comfort. They also decay super easily and unlike plastic, they will not harm the land where they decay. Because of the idea of using paper bags, people in Kolkata have managed to try and make a living by recycling paper to make bags they can sell. It is not an ideal lifestyle, but they would not be able to survive with the remains of harmful plastic around them to try and make bags.

Using paper bags to store your groceries and other things is also extremely useful. For storing things like candy, fruit or coffee beans, it locks in freshness and aroma. You don't know where plastic bags have been or how safe they are, so it is overall more useful to use paper over plastic. The first plastic bag ever produced might still remain on this Earth, if a creature like a vulture, turtle or basically almost any animal hasn't eaten or gotten trapped in it. Even children are realising the harm that plastic can do and are trying to spread awareness before time runs out.

So will you try and make this small change to your lifestyle instead of lying around and waiting for others to do it? Are you going to wait for other animals to replace the extinct ones killed by plastic bags? It's a small decision, but your choice makes a big impact. Will you do this for our home?