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POINT: Paper and cloth bags are better alternatives than plastic bags

Counter Point:

• Globally 5th Largest Consumer of Energy
  - 10% of All Industry Energy Consumption
  - 4% of World Energy Consumption
• One of the Largest Users of Water ü 1 Mt of Paper (7000 - 8000 copies of News paper) 10 to 17 trees needed and Paper cannot be recycled indefinitely; Maximum 4 Times.
• Recycling is also energy intensive and requires chemicals for bleaching / deinking.
• Rated Medium in Biodegradability with Associated Hazards like leachates.
  

Paper imposes heavy burden on environment. If we do not ban paper, why ban plastics?

Source : The World Resources Foundation, UK

POINT: Paper & cloth bags are better alternatives than plastic bags

Counter Point: Plastics are 100% recyclable via various routes :

• The smaller volume of plastic bags can help conserve landfill space.
• Nothing degrades fast enough to extend the useful lives of modern US landfills... not paper, not plastics, nothing.
• 30 percent less material is used to produce today's plastic bags than the bags made just 5 years ago.
• Compared to paper grocery bags, plastic grocery bags :
  - Consume 40 percent less energy than paper (1.34 million MJ Vs 0.58 million MJ for 1 million bags)
  - Generate 80 percent less solid waste
  - Produce 70 percent fewer atomospheric emissions
  - Release upto 94 percent fewer waterborne wastes.

Source : Dr. William Rathje, University of Arizona Garbage Project, usa/German federal office.

POINT: Paper & cloth bags are better alternatives than plastic bags

Counter Point: How eco-friendly is cotton ?

• Growing Cotton:
  - One of the Most Chemical intensive Crops
  - Contaminates Intensive use of Soil Fertilizersand Pesticides
• Processing Cotton:

  Bleaching	-	Contaminated Effluents
  Dyeing	-	Synthetic dyes not biodegradable, Biodiabolic
  Mercerising	-	40% remains as waste
  Anti-felt Finishing	-	Heavy metals cr, cu, cd.
  Water proofing	-	Enters the food chain
  Silk weighing	-	Released by clothing when worn
  4 Auxiliary Agents	-	Absorbed by skin
  4 Washing for reuse	-	Detergents, Solvents

When you wear cotton, you also wear Toxins

Source : Statesman

POINT: Paper & cloth bags are better alternatives than plastic bags

Counter Point:

Jute processing has adverse impact on environment

POINT: Plastics deplete resources

Counter Point: Plastics Conserve Resources

Plastic - the most resource efficient packaging material : highest product - package ratio.

Source : Dr. William Rathje (SPI/APC).