It appears the Dutch are trying to do something about plastic in the oceans: https://www.earthfiles.com/2018/04/...arbage-in-pacific-ocean-threaten-marine-life/
I see the problem was discovered in the early 1990s - shame on countries for not moving faster and thank God for Boyan Slat - he's a hero
I find the Nannyites and their OCD-like fixation to replace biodegradable plastic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradable_plastic) bags with paper to be laughable. Yeah, let's slaughter some forests to make paper bags because: 1. Biodegradable plastic bags take a hunderd years or so to breakdown. 2. Despite all the hoopla, nobody wants to use recycled paper to make bags (or it seems, much else).
Don't quite get yer post but - the 'paper bags' I get free from a store are strong and sturdy and definitely made from recycled paper
The paper vs plastic debate is raging in my area with some counties considering a ban on plastic bags. The thing that I find strange is that if the plastic bags are banned then I will have to begin buying plastic garbage bags for my trash instead of using the free bags given to me by the stores. IMO the main benefit in the short term at least is for the retailers with lower costs and higher sales. I do believe that each of us should limit the use of all types of packaging where practical. It makes no sense to me to put a pepper or a tomato on a plastic tray, wrap it in plastic cling film and then put it into a plastic bag to carry it home or to buy a tin can with 4.5 ounces of chicken in it. I also believe that it would also make a huge impact on the world if people were simply taught not to litter.
The problem is Beatrice, your bags end up in trees and scattered across the countryside I buy bin liners very cheaply at certain stores, they hold a lot more of course and degrade much quicker @Beatrice Taylor
I'm going to start writing my name and telephone number on my plastic bags to see if I can validate your theory.
Really ! ? You don't believe me ! ? I'll just tell you, its 'not' a theory Nothing more to add @Beatrice Taylor
For the last five years or so that I worked in a paper bag plant, most everything we made was from recycled paper. It was more expensive and we couldn't get as much production out of it as with non-recycled paper, but that was what the stores wanted.