The Washinton Post created a great informational graphic that explains the process each of the bags goes through to become the bags we use. According to the information, paper bags take more than twice the amount of energy to create than plastic and contribute far more water and air pollution than plastic. The trade off is that paper bags are biodegradable, but in a landfill there isn’t nearly enough air and light to break down the paper. Plastic on the other hand never biodegrades.

So which one should you ask for? Neither. Instead, buy a reusable (and fashionable!) cloth bag to carry your groceries.

Via WashingtonPost.com