Every time you go to the grocery store, and the guy at checkout asks, “Paper or plastic,” do you freeze in a moment of panic trying to figure out what the right answer is? Now, if you freeze in panic because you really want to get the answer right because you need approval, then I’m not sure we can help you. However, if you freeze because you’re trying to figure out which answer is better for the environment, then you’ve come to the right place.

Today, treehugger.com posted an in-depth comparison of paper bags versus plastic bags, including where each type comes from, how each type is produced, and how each type is recycled. For example, for a plastic bag,

plastic bags are typically made from oil, a non-renewable resource. Plastics are a by-product of the oil-refining process, accounting for about four percent of oil production around the globe. The biggest energy input is from the plastic bag creation process is electricity, which, in this country, comes from coal-burning power plants at least half of the time.

But, for example, simply to recycle a paper bag,

The paper must first be re-pulped, which usually requires a chemical process involving compounds like hydrogen peroxide, sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide, which bleach and separate the pulp fibers. The fibers are then cleaned and screened to be sure they’re free of anything that would contaminate the paper-making process, and are then washed to remove any leftover ink before being pressed and rolled into paper, as before.

So is there a right answer? takepart and read what the article tells us is best. Of course, my answer of “Carry everything without a bag” was not chosen, probably because that gets pretty tricky pretty fast unless you juggle.