Paper vs. Plastic Packaging: Two Sides Responds to Newspaper Piece About Unsubstantiated Environmental Claims

The Washington Times recently featured an opinion piece by an advocate for the plastics industry that included multiple unsubstantiated environmental claims about paper-based packaging. Two Sides North America submitted the following letter to the editors in response. To the editors: Why is it that whenever someone wants to extoll the sustainability benefits of plastic packaging products, they feel compelled to claim that plastics have “a lower environmental impact” than paper-based packaging (America succumbs to plastic paranoia, September 26) instead of simply making a fact-based environmental case? Could it be because…

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Make Mine a BPA

Like lead before it (and we all know how that turned out), bisphenol A is taking its turn in the spotlight, decked out in misinformation and escorted by ongoing controversy. Welcome to the party.
Before last week, it would seem the FDA had pretty much put this one to rest. But it didn’t really go away. In fact, it was really only a matter of time before someone brought this up again, and courtesy of The Washington Post, bring it up they did. Though I realize that, as a reporter, I “dig” for a living, it doesn’t take a backhoe to unearth that the

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The End of Paper or Plastic?

I think supermarket vocabulary is about to change. As plastic grocery bags look to be heading the way of the dodo, the age-old question of paper or plastic my not be relevant in the not-so-distant future. I say this for many reasons, both societal and personal. Firstly, a string of cities and even entire countries have moved to ban the unbiodegradable petro-chemical sacks that have a tendency to not only end up as unsightly litter, but to also clog up drainage and sewage systems. Secondly, many companies have started to produce some quality, green alternatives, which, citing the laws of supply and demand, indicates

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