IPSOS, a worldwide market research agency, conducted a poll in seven European nations and found that 79% of respondents reported feeling better at ease while handling paper items.
Ninety-three% of respondents agree that paper is a sustainable material that should be given preference when designing packaging.
Additionally, the majority of shoppers are thinking about how their purchases are packaged:
Seventy% of respondents said they would be in favour of a ban on throwaway bags and single-use paper shopping bags in grocery stores.
Eighty% of individuals agree that “biodegradable” items can only be made from materials that break down in their natural settings.
In contrast to plastic bags, paper bags are created from trees. Paper bags will have little impact on marine life since they may decompose in the environment within two to five months.
In addition, paper bags play a significant role in building a company’s reputation. Due to paper bags’ various advantages, customers will like them.
Within the European Union, the European Parliament enacted a measure prohibiting single-use plastics last year (EU). The measure prohibiting single-use plastic items will become law in 2021 if it receives approval from the European Commission and is subsequently accepted by each EU member state.
Produced entirely from renewable resources, paper bags are an environmentally friendly option.
Wood is used as raw material and a primary source in paper manufacturing. The supply of this organic material is infinite and never-ending.
Europe’s woods occupy an area of up to 215 million hectares or more than a third of the continent. That’s a massive windfall of possible natural resources for fighting global warming.
In Europe, forest area is increasing by 1.4% per year due to regeneration following deforestation. Two new trees will be planted for every tree that is cut down.
Water conservation, new species discovery, biodiversity preservation, and the betterment of forestry workers’ lives are all part of what’s meant by “sustainable forest management.”
Carbon dioxide is kept in large quantities in paper bags.
Forestry products like paper are sustainable since they use renewable resources. As saplings develop, they take up atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Paper is made from trees; therefore, it keeps storing carbon even after it has been used.
Every cubic metre of wood takes one tonne of carbon dioxide, whereas 0.70 tonnes of oxygen is released.
According to estimates, European woods sequester a yearly average of 719 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide. This number is equivalent to Germany’s total yearly CO2 emission output across all sectors (energy, manufacturing, construction, transportation, residential, agricultural, and municipal waste). Without this, it would be the same as shutting down 209 coal-fired power plants.
To make things like paper shopping bags and wooden furniture, CO2 is stored until the trees are harvested.
Around 1.3 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide are captured by every kilogramme of paper until it is recycled.
When compared to plastic bags, paper bags have a far more negligible environmental impact.
All manufacturing processes significantly alter the natural world. One way to quantify production’s ecological footprint is through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The Global Warming Potential is one such effect (GWP).
Researchers from the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute examined the amount of carbon dioxide equivalents released during manufacturing paper and plastic shopping bags. The results showed that compared to Polyurethane bags made of LDPE and thermoplastics created from regenerated or recycled Ethylene monomer, paper bags made with pure or recycled fibres have a lower global warming potential (GWP).
Ellen Hollington is a freelance writer who offers to ghostwrite, copywriting, and blogging services. She works closely with B2C and B2B businesses providing digital marketing content that gains social media attention and increases their search engine visibility.