Paper vs. Plastic
Paper Bag Facts
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14 million trees are cut down to make the paper bags
used in a year.
Only 20% of paper bags get recycled.
When one ton of paper bags is reused or recycled, three cubic meters of landfill space is
saved and 13-17 trees are spared! In 1997, 955,000 tons of paper bags were used in the
United States.
Paper cannot be recycled indefinitely. It can only be recycled 4-6 times. Some fresh pulp
must be introduced into the process to maintain the strength and quality of the fiber, so no
matter how much we recycle we will never eradicate the need for fresh tree pulp.
Paper is the number one material that we throw away. For every 100 pounds of trash we
throw away, 35 pounds is paper. Newspapers take up about 14 percent of landfill space, and
paper in packaging accounts for another 15 to 20 percent.
Plastic Bag Facts
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12 million barrels of oil are used to make the plastic
bags consumed in the U.S. annually.
Plastic creates 4 times the solid waste vs.
paper bags; enough to fill the Empire State Building 2 1/2 times a year.
88.5 billion plastic bags were consumed in the U.S. last year.
It takes up to 1000 years for plastic bags to biodegrade (breakdown) in our landfills.
The average family of four uses 1460 plastic bags a year.
An estimated 500 billion plastic bags are sold worldwide each year.
Less than 1% of all plastic bags are recycled in the U.S.
Over 100,000 birds and marine life die each year due to an encounter with plastic debris,
much of it plastic bags.
When one ton of plastic bags are reused or recycled, the energy saved is equal to 11 barrels
of oil.
But plastic bags are so convenient!
It depends on how far you are looking. A plastic bag may be convenient for a
minute or two when you carry something out of the store, but for the rest of
the life of the bag (which is forever) it is not just inconvenient, it is ugly, toxic,
and life-threatening. There are alternatives to plastic bags, many of which
were used by our parents and grandparents quite handily.
(Source: EPA, Institute for lifecycle Environmental Assessment and Eia.doe.gov)
http://www.allgreenthings.com/store/pc/Paper-vs-Plastic-d9.htm#facts
Name ____________________________
Date _________________ Period ______
1. Complete the Venn Diagram with details from the article.
Paper Bags
Plastic Bags
Both
2. Define the following vocabulary words based on the context clues in the article
Indefinitely
A. effectively
B. positive/ sure
C. without limits
Eradicate
A. begin
B. end
C. highlight
Biodegrade
A. breakdown
B. insult
C. smell
3. What is the number one type of debris found in landfills?
A. food waste
B. paper
C. plastic bags
4. In addition to the trash it creates, what other environmental problem can be connected to
creating paper bags?
A. deforestation
B. oil spills
C. strip mining
5. Based on the article the author’s viewpoint can best be described as
A. A supporter of using paper bags for shopping
B. In favor of composting vs. adding to landfill waste
C. Not in favor of either paper or plastic bags
6. How do the bullet points help the reader?
A. It identifies the main ideas of the article
B. It puts the facts and information in sequential order
C. They take a lot of information and make it quick and easy to read
7. If you were to add another subsection to this article on related information, what would be the
most appropriate and helpful topic?
A. A history of landfills and public dumps
B. Alternatives to using paper or plastic bags
C. The chemical process of making plastic bags