Paper or plastic? The most environmentally friendly option for your groceries isn’t that obvious. While 8% of the world’s oil production goes to plastic manufacturing, paper bag production requires more energy and emits more greenhouse gases.

In a 2011 study of the life-cycle of various bags, the United Kingdom’s Environment Agency found that for a paper bag’s environmental impact to equal one use of a polyethylene plastic bag, it would have to be reused three times. The same study also reported that recycling or composting paper bags didn’t make a significant difference.

However, plastic bags are still harmful to the environment. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, a plastic bag takes at least 500 years to degrade, and even then, it doesn’t break down completely. Instead, it turns into microplastics that absorb toxins and continue to pollute.

Additionally, plastic bags kill 100,000 marine animals each year from the 18 billion pounds of plastic that end up in the ocean every year. The World Economic Forum says that animals may become trapped in plastic bags or confuse them for food.

Polyethylene bags could be recycled, but they are the fifth most common single-use plastic in the environment, as less than 5% are actually recycled in the United States.

Some states are implementing bans or fees on these bags to encourage customers to use more sustainable options.

New York State lawmakers proposed one of the 95 bills in 2019 that were aimed at reducing plastic use. The law went into effect in March 2019 and bans stores from providing single-use plastic bags.

Stores like Kroger and ALDI have also taken matters into their own hands.

Kroger, America’s largest grocer, announced in 2018 that by 2025, all of their stores will be dependent on reusable bags. Customers will either have to bring their own bags or purchase a reusable or paper bag.

ALDI has never offered single-use plastic bags, and the company recently announced a set of five commitments to tackle another large issue in grocery stores: packaging. ALDI’s main goal is to transition into packaging that is exclusively reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

The products we place in our grocery bags, whether paper, plastic or reusable, could have a bigger impact on the environment than the bag itself.

A British study found that a cotton reusable bag would have to be used 131 times in order to have a smaller global warming effect than a lightweight plastic bag used once. But National Geographic reports that packaging makes up 40 percent of plastic produced, and global food production is responsible for 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

While the bans on single-use plastic bags aren’t a bad thing, the real issue we should be focused on is the kind of products we are buying.

Kayla Mayer can be reached at maye8518@stthomas.edu.