“Paper bags use high amounts of wood, petroleum, and coal. A single paper bag uses the energy equivalent of 550 kJ of wood as feedstock. It also uses 500 kJ of petroleum and 350 kJ of coal for process energy. The total amount of energy used by a single paper bag is 1,680 kJ.”

“The feedstock materials in plastic bags are natural gas and petroleum. Two plastic bags use 990 kJ of natural gas, 240 kJ of petroleum, and 160 kJ of coal. The energy used for two plastic bags is 1,470 kJ. Two plastic bags use 87% the amount of energy used by one paper. “

“Though more energy is cut out through the recycling process, it isn't enough to favor a plastic bag. Pollutants are divided into three categories: solid, atmospheric and waterborne waste. Each category accounts for both production and post consumer waste including fuels used in electricity generation and transportation. Solid waste deals with the product after arriving at the landfill and also trimmings thrown out in manufacturing. Atmospheric and waterborne waste concern materials discharged after receiving emissions control or wastewater treatment. In each category, two plastic bags produce less pollution than one paper.”

“Plastic bags, having less mass than paper, produce less solid waste. At current recycling rates two plastic bags produces 14 g of solid waste while one paper creates 50 g. Two plastic bags produce 72% less solid waste than their paper bag equivalent”

“At current recycling rates two plastic bags use less energy and produce less solid, atmospheric, and waterborne waste than a single paper bag. Moreover future improvements only increase preference in plastic bags.“

“Plastics are produced from the waste products of oil refining. An analysis of the life cycle of plastic bags includes consideration of the environmental impacts associated with the extraction of oil, the separation of products in the refining process, and the manufacturing of plastics. The total environmental impact depends upon the efficiency of operations at each stage and the effectiveness of their environmental protection measures. Paper is produced from trees; environmental impacts include those associated with extracting timber and processing it for paper products. Again, the environmental impacts depend on whether the timber was obtained from a sustainably managed forest most industrial timber products in the U.S. come from plantations -- and the environmental management of the paper processing plant. Comparatively, plastic bags require less energy to produce.”

“If land filled, plastic bags are more environmentally benign than paper, as they require less space; paper occupies approximately half of overall landfill volume. Plastics (not just bags) generate 14 to 28 percent of the volume of trash in general, but because much of it can be compressed, only 9 to 12 percent of the volume of waste in landfills.”

“The percentage of landfill volume taken up by plastics has remained steady since 1970 even as plastics have become more widely used.”

“Not all trash ends up in landfills; in the U.S. about 80 percent does.” “Littering and trash laws in developing countries have significantly reduced the amount of improperly disposed trash, many developing countries have fewer trash receptacles, landfills, and programs to handle the increasing amount of trash.”

“Both paper and plastic bags have to be transported to stores, which requires energy and creates emissions. In this comparison, plastic is preferable because plastic bags are lighter in weight and more compact than paper bags. It would take approximately seven trucks to transport the same number of paper bags as can be transported by a single truck full of plastic bags.”

Polythene Bags are cheaper than paper bags, can have same quality of digital printing on them as compared to paper bags. They are less bulky so are easy to transport and store. They are 100% recyclable and eco-friendly. Polythene is produced from the waste products of oil refining but paper is made from wood procured by cutting trees.

The decades old debate concludes with the fact that all new research & developments (like using waste polythene for construction of roads) are for making polythene more preferable.