From Paper to Plastic: An Environmental Misstep

In the late 1990s, the widespread use of plastic bags was viewed as a solution to the environmental impact of paper grocery bags, as people were encouraged to switch from paper bags due to concerns about the number of trees cut down for paper production. In hindsight, it is now clear that logging can be pretty sustainable (though not entirely faultless). However, the introduction of plastic bags resulted in a new set of environmental problems, as plastic bags are not easily recyclable and their thin nature makes reuse uncommon. This has resulted in a massive amount of plastic pollution in the environment, showing how the push for plastic bags backfired.