If anyone knows the slightest difference between paper and plastic bags (besides that they look and feel different) from an environmental perspective, it is that paper is far better. Ideally a cloth bag that one can reuse is the best option, but if you without a carrying device and the choice is paper or plastic, go with the former.
Now, this being New York City and that we are represented by a City Council that likes to pass mostly meaningless legislation for legislation's sake, our representatives are seeking to put their two cents in on the problem of plastic bags. Frankly, there are too many of them in the trash and something needs to be done, but their proposal seems a bit ludicrous.
From The Daily News:
Speaker Christine Quinn and City Councilman Peter Vallone (D-Queens) are co-sponsors of the legislation aimed at reducing the flow of plastic bags that end up in the city's trash.
The bill targets any retail or wholesale store larger than 5,000 square feet that provides plastic carryout bags to its customers.
Under the terms of the legislation, each bag would have to display the message: "Please return this bag to a participating store for recycling" in letters at least 3 inches tall.
If it becomes law, stores would have six months to use their existing supply of unlabeled bags, and must provide bins where customers can deposit used bags.
The plastic bags could either be reused by shoppers or recycled by the business. Store owners risk fines of up to $2,000 a day if they fail to comply.
There are so many problems with this I don't even know where to begin. First of all, plenty of bodegas have less than 5,000 (or even 500) feet of floor space yet they use plenty of plastic bags, so why not include them? Also, so what if they label their bags and at an added cost to the market? Do you think people are really going to heed the message in a significant manner?
If Quinn and the rest of the council really wanted to make a difference, they would force every market to use paper bags and encourage New Yorkers to take re-usable cloth bags when they shop. Of course, this is the NYC City Council we are talking about, so I won't even try to get my hopes up.
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