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by gruez 2169 days ago
they're not waterproof (or at least, lose structural integrity when wet), and they have worse climate impact than plastic bags.
2 comments

Yes climate impact via co2 load is important. But persistent environmental pollutants is also important. That's the essential problem of plastic.

The ideal is a closed carbon loop, and the primary blocker here is the continued use of oil, coal, and gas.

How do they have worse impact? I thought they're made of renewable lumber and compost better than plastic?
The numbers: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...

>I thought they're made of renewable lumber and compost better than plastic?

All of which is irrelevant to climate impact. Taking oil out of the ground, turning it into plastic bags, then burying it is carbon neutral, if we ignore the energy required for processing. This is fair because it also takes energy to process pulp to make paper bags. Composting actually causes co2 to be released, so that's actually counterproductive.