Plastic fantastic! Carrier bags 'not eco-villains after all'

This article confirms what common sense has always told us. Thinking enviromentalists choose (and re-use) plastic bags.

Unpublished Environment Agency research shows polythene may be less harmful than cotton or paper

By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Sunday, 20 February 2011 -  Independent on Sunday

Unpublished Government research suggests the plastic carrier may not be an eco villain after all – but, whisper it, an unsung hero. Hated by environmentalists and shunned by shoppers, the disposable plastic bag is piling up in a shame-filled corner of retail history. But a draft report by the Environment Agency, obtained by the Independent on Sunday, has found that ordinary high density polythene (HDPE) bags used by shops are actually greener than supposedly low impact choices.

HDPE bags are, for each use, almost 200 times less damaging to the climate than cotton hold-alls favoured by environmentalists, and have less than one third of the Co2 emissions than paper bags.

Follow the link to read more...
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/plastic-fantastic-carrier-bags-not-ecovillains-after-all-2220129.html