Paper or Plastic

rhe global effort to eliminate plastic bags is under attack from

scientists and environmentalists.
Many proponents of the ban point to a study conducted in
1987 by Canada in Newfoundland that concluded that more than
100,000 marine mammals and 1 million seabirds arc killed every
TRIBO.ser/es Today
year by discarded materials. While many have used this study to
conclude plastic bags were the culprit, the document actually
never mentions that product. Rather, the main cause was found
to be from discarded nets.
TRIBO.ser/es bag leak detectors,
"The Government is irresponsible to jump on a bandwagon most reliable, least costly
that has no base in scientific evidence," said Lord Taverne, the monitoring and compliance
chairman of Sense about Science. "This is one of many examples
where you get bad science leading to bad decisions which are systems for stacks, baghouses,
counter-productive. Attacking plastic bags makes people feel cartridge filters. Created by us
good but it doesn't achieve anything."
According to reusablebags.com, it takes more than four times as
more than a quarter century ago,
much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does a plastic bag. we have more than 35,000
Paper sacks generate 70 percent more air and 50 times more water systems installed world-wide.
pollutants than plastic bags. It takes 91 percent loss energy to recycle
.1 pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper. Current
research demonstrates that paper in modern landfills does not • MACT/EPA Reporting
degrade or break down at a substantially faster rate than plastic does
atid paper takes up more space.
- Maintenance Management
However, few plastic bags are recycled, and environmental organi-
zations almost unanimously recommend reusable cloth bags as the
most environmentally friendly means of carrying groceries.
Phone: 800-255-5008
Email: saies@auburnsys.com
When Poisons Become the Cure
Web: www.auburnsys.com
A surprising finding that copper and other metals could
reduce the bioavailability and toxicity of estrogenic and endo-
crine-disrupting compounds (EDC) was recently published in
Environmental Toxicology ami Chemistry.
Researchers from the Department
of Environmental Science and
Engineering at Gwangju Institute of
Science and Technology in Korea, led
by Jong Yol Park, found that cop-
per can interact with EDCs that con-
tained - OH groups and thus reduce
the compound's estrogenic activities.
Copper was the only metal tested by
the researchers but tbey believe other metals that are commonly
found in effluents and wastewaters could have similar effects.
Studies in nature have found disturbing evidence that some com-
pounds are getting past the wastevrater treatment systems and affect-
ing fish and other wildlife. Higher incidences of mutation are being
rioted around the world and HDCs often are pointed to as a likely
cause. The source of these compounds is still being investigated.
Some sources could be birth control pills that are flushed down sinks
iitid toilets, body oils and skin treatment, perfumes, etc.
To read the entire published report, see www.allenpress.com/pdf/
il552-86l8-27-3-535.pdf. To learn more about ETC, see
www.setac.com.

APRIL2008 www.poliutionengineering.com