..First consider why plastic products have prevailed in the marketplace. In addition to being very convenient for carrying groceries (plastic bags) and carrying food (foam cups keep our coffee hot and food warm), these products are highly energy and water efficient as well as sanitary. That also makes them very inexpensive to produce and transport. Numerous life-cycle studies, which track a product’s cradle-to-grave environmental impact, demonstrate this fact. For example, a review of several life-cycle assessments produced for a group called Use Less Stuff found that plastic bags: Generate 39 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than regular paper bags; Require 6 percent of the water necessary to make paper bags; Consume 71 percent less energy during production than paper bags; and Produce one-fifth the amount of solid waste compared to paper bags.
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