Paper or plastic? I think the first time a grocery clerk asked me that question was back in… gosh.. 1990? No, I’m not talking about paper money versus plastic debit card (although I could be just as easily, but that’s a different article entirely); I’m talking about paper bags versus plastic bags.

Personally, I didn’t like the idea  from the very beginning.  That was a change I did not believe in.  To me, the plastic bag was in every way inferior to the paper bag:  plastic had no structure (which makes for a sloppy mess when multiple bags are combined in the trunk of the average car) , they were prone to splitting, they weren’t bio-degradable, and if those things weren’t enough they led to the asphyxiation of  many toddlers and others who somehow ended up with them over their heads. To say I was bent out of shape (pardon the pun) over this change would be an understatement. I abhorred it  and did my best to avoid “plastic” at all costs over the years.

Apparently the “who-moved-my-paper” contingent, of which  I have been proud to be a part,  was a small one. Plastic bags became the bag of choice for consumers. With the advent of Target and Wal-Mart they were soon as common as weeds and became fixtures in parking lots, parks, fields, front yards, backyards, trails, gutters and eventually the Pacific Ocean– in the form of 100 million ton floating mass of  “plastic soup” that is evidently now  TWICE the size of the United States!

Actually, as you can see from the graphic (click for large size) , there are two toxic masses now, one in the west and one in the east. They are comprised of all sorts of refuse, but mostly plastic bags and plastic water bottles. One British web site refers to it as “The World’s Floating Dump of Rubbish.”

The high cost of low prices.

As you probably know, there is some good news to report.  Thanks to marine biologists and other “tree-hugger” environmentalist types who have called attention to the oceanic tragedy,  there is now an impressive movement afoot to rid the world of plastic stuff. As a result, stores worldwide are encouraging the use of recyclable bags, and slowly “sunsetting” (this is a retail industry word used to denote the retiring of a product)  the nasty plasty. For instance, in Ireland the government imposed a 33% tax and within months 94% of consumers wouldn’t touch the stuff anymore. Now that is the kind of change I can believe in.

Now if we could somehow get rid of that floating mass out there. Hey I’ve got a question. What happens if that 100 million ton mass comes ashore? The graphic at left provides a clue. Yikes. The Boy Scouts will have their work cut out for them. Too bad we couldn’t just zap it all away for good. The world was so much more pleasant without it.

Speaking of zapping, another form of plastic is quietly replacing a paper industry (although this one may actually HELP the environment).  If you haven’t noticed, books are going digital.  Everyone from Amazon (Kindle) to Apple (iPhone) to Google (Google Books) are selling “e-books.” Like it or not, they’re selling like tickets to a celebrity funeral. In fact e-books have become Apple’s number one seller in their apps store, and Forrester Research says 3 million iPhone users are reading e-books at any given time. That may seem like a small number, but when y0u consider the iPhone is only about a year old–well, you get the picture. If that isn’t enough, Apple is set to launch a digital notepad that insiders are saying has the potential to revive the newspaper industry (a Biblical scale feat if I’ve ever heard one).

Yep, the traditional spine-bound book is slowly being elbowed out of the marketplace, and in time it’s likely retailers such as Barnes & Noble and Borders will eventually meet the same fate as their cousins Blockbuster and Hollywood Video (both of which are being clobbered by NetFlix, RedBox–gotta love $1 rentals!–and other digital competitors at this moment). And while I’m always glad to see another soulless corporate franchise like Blockbuster bite the dust, it would be sad to see the booksellers go, for the migration of  paper books to plastic format  is definitely another change I don’t believe in.

Granted, digital readers are green, convenient, and efficient, but for me they will never replace a glorious paper book. For one reason or another, I find it hard to “curl up” with a digital device on a cold winter day in front of the fire and read. Books are so tightly interwoven with my entire being I can’t imagine living without them. That’s why I’ve decided to build a true library of books. I’m buying all the classics, and all the books in my various fields of study, and preparing for the future. I don’t care if they end up in a landfill one day. At least they’ll disintegrate on their own.

Now I’m headed out to make the thrift store rounds. I resemble my Dad more and more each day.

Sources:

http://www.alternet.org/water/76056/

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/18/SS6JS8RH0.DTL

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/the-worlds-rubbish-dump-a-garbage-tip-that-stretches-from-hawaii-to-japan-778016.html