Paper bags vs plastic bags

Where paper wins

• Kerbside recycling: uncoated paper is accepted almost everywhere in the UK.
• Customer perception: a printed paper bag reads as a considered purchase.
• Print quality: paper carries a logo better than thin film.
• Shelf and counter: a paper bag stands up; a plastic one does not.

Where plastic still wins

• Wet contents and rain, unless the paper bag is laminated.
• Weight for weight, a reusable plastic bag survives more trips.
• Cost per bag at the very low end of the market.

What the comparison usually gets wrong

Most published comparisons count manufacturing and stop there. For a shop, the number that matters is cost per use: a paper carrier that gets reused as a lunch bag for a month has done more work than a plastic one that went in a bin at the car park.

The other thing it gets wrong is the choice. For most British shops it is not paper or plastic any more - the single-use plastic bag has largely gone. The real question is which paper bag.