[GreenYes] Re: Fwd: Plastic Bags - how much oil is wasted in producing them?

[thudbranch@no.address]

While I believe most plastics do not come from the waste of oil
refining, but rather represent one more use of that multiple use
commodity.  Realize that paper bags use several times as much oil to
make and do their own kinds of environmental damage.  For instance it
takes 3 or 4 times the number of trucks to deliver the same number of
paper bags as plastic bags to the markets.
If we care, rather than waste bags we should start carrying reusable
bag(s) with us everywhere we shop.

Greg


Rod Muir wrote:
> It is my understanding that, ironically, plastic is made from the (waste)
> by-product of petroleum or NG refinement.
> That in the past much of this by-product was simply flared off or otherwise
> wasted?
> As a result it's hard to say that there is a net loss in gasoline or heating
> fuel availability because of plastic production.
> Finally, that the reason there's so much more plastic around is that we are
> refining so much more Pet. and NG for energy use?
> Thanks,
> Rod Muir
> Sierra Club of Canada
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Norm Ruttan" <normruttan@no.address>
> To: "GreenYes" <GreenYes@no.address>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2006 8:05 AM
> Subject: [GreenYes] Re: Fwd: Plastic Bags - how much oil is wasted in
> producing them?
>
>
> >
> > The world uses between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic grocery bags
> > a year.
> > About 3 percent become litter-hanging from fences or trees, clogging
> > storm drains, and causing problems for wildlife. Many bags are
> > recycled. About 50% end up as waste.
> >
> > 67 bags weigh 1 pound, so 500 billion bags= 7,462,685,567 pounds of
> > white plastic grocery bags going to landfills each year.
> >
> > Pound for pound, plastics contain as much energy as petroleum or
> > natural gas, so this represents the loss of almost 4 billion tons of
> > energy each year.
> >
> > More information <a href="
> >
> http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/0902_030902_plasticbags.html";>
> > here </a>