Paper or plastic question would be useful again

Paper or plastic?

That used to be what grocery stores asked when they made the switch from paper grocery bags to plastic ones. I haven't heard that question asked locally for years and wasn't even aware that some grocery stores still offered the option until I recently read an Associated Press story about the Whole Foods grocery stores.

It seems that Whole Foods, a popular natural and organic foods supermarket chain, has decided plastic bags have to go because of their harmful impact on the environment. Beginning on Earth Day, April 22, they will only offer paper bags or reusable cloth bags.

The company estimates the action will keep 100 million plastic bags out of landfills by the end of 2008. That number is small, however, compared to the total number of plastic bags used by stores in American each year - 100 BILLION.

It is hardly surprising so many plastic bags are being used. Very few stores offer paper bags any longer.

Personally, I have always preferred paper grocery bags over plastic, and was disappointed when stores stopped offering the option. I think they hold groceries, especially heavy items, much better than plastic and were easier to transport in your car without everything spilling out. They also were reusable as garbage can liners.

But plastic held sway, mostly because they were cheaper for stores, an understandable consideration for grocery stores which often maintain only a few percent of profit margin. It's a very competitive business and a few pennies on each bag adds up.

However, a lot of consumers actually prefer the plastic bags since they have convenient handles for carrying, They, like paper bags, also have reusable purposes, like lining small trash cans for convenient disposal of trash.

But there is a big strike against plastic bags. Worldwatch, an environmental research group, estimates it takes more than 1,000 years for them to break down in a landfill. Compare that with five or six months for paper bags.

Actually, serious environmentalists, if they had their way, would do away with both plastic and paper bags. They would prefer that people just bring their own cloth or canvas bags to the stores. Whole Foods encourages this by deducting a few cents from the bills of those using them. They also sell cloth bags in their stores.

Bringing you own cloth bags is probably going to be a hard sell for many consumers, but I wonder if they will welcome the return of paper bags. After all, many people have become used to the plastic bags now and find them convenient. Will the Whole Foods decision spark a trend back to paper bags or consumer dissatisfaction?

The bigger question may end up being whether consumers are willing to pay a few cents more on their bills to pay for the additional cost of paper bags. Paper bags would be more costly than plastic bags for grocers and retailers. Will the environmental concern overcome the cost concern?

It would be interesting to offer consumers the choice again of paper of plastic, with the knowledge that there would be an extra charge for paper. It would be a test of the depth of environmental commitment. It would also be interesting to see if people are using plastic bags simply because they have no other choice.

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Terry Ross is editor of The Sun. E-mail him at tross@yumasun.com or phone him at 539-6870. His Editor's Notebook blog is at www.yumasun.com/blogs.