{"id":4531,"date":"2025-06-02T16:43:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T23:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/?p=4531"},"modified":"2025-06-02T16:43:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T23:43:11","slug":"whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s Better for the Environment: Paper or Plastic?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\n<p>It&#8217;s a common question with a not-so-simple answer: <strong>Is paper or plastic better for the environment?<\/strong> The truth is, both materials have environmental impacts, and the better option depends on how the packaging is made, used, and disposed of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re trying to choose the more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/custom-eco-friendly-packaging\">eco-friendly option<\/a> for your business, here&#8217;s what you should know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Paper Packaging: Renewable and Recyclable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/custom-printed-paper-bags-and-eurototes\">Paper<\/a> is made from renewable resources and is widely recyclable in curbside programs. It is also biodegradable and compostable under the right conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pros of Paper:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Made from renewable resources<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Easier to recycle than plastic in most areas<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Biodegradable and compostable<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Can be made with recycled content<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things to Consider:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Requires more energy and water to produce<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Heavier than plastic, which can increase transportation emissions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Plastic Packaging: Lightweight and Durable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/custom-printed-plastic-bag\">Plastic bags<\/a> require less energy to manufacture and transport, and they typically have a smaller carbon footprint per use when reused multiple times. However, plastic can take hundreds of years to decompose and is not accepted in all curbside recycling programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pros of Plastic:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Requires less energy to produce<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lightweight, reducing shipping emissions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strong and reusable in many cases<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things to Consider:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Made from non-renewable fossil fuels<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Often ends up in landfills or the environment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Recycling depends heavily on local infrastructure<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">So, Which Is Better?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If used once and thrown away, paper may have a lower impact.<\/strong><br><strong>If reused many times, plastic may be more efficient.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most eco-friendly option often comes down to <strong>how your customers use and dispose of your packaging<\/strong>. A recyclable paper bag made with recycled content is often the safer, more sustainable choice, especially when paired with responsible sourcing and disposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Looking for sustainable packaging options?<\/strong><br>Morgan Chaney offers recyclable, reusable, and post-consumer recycled materials for paper and plastic bags. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/contact-morgan-chaney\">Contact us<\/a> to find the right fit for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s a common question with a not-so-simple answer: Is paper or plastic better for the environment? The truth is, both materials have environmental impacts, and the better option depends on how the packaging is made, used, and disposed of. If you&#8217;re trying to choose the more eco-friendly option for your business, here&#8217;s what you should [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":727,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faqs"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What&#039;s Better for the Environment: Paper or Plastic? | Morgan Chaney\u00ae<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What&#039;s Better for the Environment: Paper or Plastic? | Morgan Chaney\u00ae\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It&#8217;s a common question with a not-so-simple answer: Is paper or plastic better for the environment? The truth is, both materials have environmental impacts, and the better option depends on how the packaging is made, used, and disposed of. If you&#8217;re trying to choose the more eco-friendly option for your business, here&#8217;s what you should [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Morgan Chaney\u00ae\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/morganchaneyco\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-02T23:43:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-02T23:43:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Erick Nova\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@morganchaneyco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@morganchaneyco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erick Nova\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Erick Nova\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ba5bb5033c2ca994addf77ce4e69289c\"},\"headline\":\"What&#8217;s Better for the Environment: Paper or Plastic?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-02T23:43:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-02T23:43:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/\"},\"wordCount\":314,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"FAQs\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/\",\"name\":\"What's Better for the Environment: Paper or Plastic? | Morgan Chaney\u00ae\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-02T23:43:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-02T23:43:11+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What&#8217;s Better for the Environment: Paper or Plastic?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Morgan Chaney Blog\",\"description\":\"Packaging That People Notice\u00ae\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Morgan Chaney\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/MorganChaney-Logo-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/MorganChaney-Logo-2.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":150,\"caption\":\"Morgan Chaney\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/morganchaneyco\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/morganchaneyco\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/452993\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/morganchaneyco\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/morganchaneypac\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCKYk0y8jxaAg2EpxF3DYX7w\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ba5bb5033c2ca994addf77ce4e69289c\",\"name\":\"Erick Nova\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/993756bb2b1760db44cbd5d4907505a7?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/993756bb2b1760db44cbd5d4907505a7?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Erick Nova\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/erick-nova-jr\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/author\/erick\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What's Better for the Environment: Paper or Plastic? | Morgan Chaney\u00ae","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What's Better for the Environment: Paper or Plastic? | Morgan Chaney\u00ae","og_description":"It&#8217;s a common question with a not-so-simple answer: Is paper or plastic better for the environment? The truth is, both materials have environmental impacts, and the better option depends on how the packaging is made, used, and disposed of. If you&#8217;re trying to choose the more eco-friendly option for your business, here&#8217;s what you should [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/","og_site_name":"Morgan Chaney\u00ae","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/morganchaneyco\/","article_published_time":"2025-06-02T23:43:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-02T23:43:11+00:00","author":"Erick Nova","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@morganchaneyco","twitter_site":"@morganchaneyco","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Erick Nova","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/"},"author":{"name":"Erick Nova","@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ba5bb5033c2ca994addf77ce4e69289c"},"headline":"What&#8217;s Better for the Environment: Paper or Plastic?","datePublished":"2025-06-02T23:43:09+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-02T23:43:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/"},"wordCount":314,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#organization"},"articleSection":["FAQs"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/","url":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/","name":"What's Better for the Environment: Paper or Plastic? | Morgan Chaney\u00ae","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-06-02T23:43:09+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-02T23:43:11+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/whats-better-for-the-environment-paper-or-plastic\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What&#8217;s Better for the Environment: Paper or Plastic?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/","name":"Morgan Chaney Blog","description":"Packaging That People Notice\u00ae","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Morgan Chaney","url":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/MorganChaney-Logo-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/MorganChaney-Logo-2.png","width":800,"height":150,"caption":"Morgan Chaney"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/morganchaneyco\/","https:\/\/x.com\/morganchaneyco","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/452993\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/morganchaneyco\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/morganchaneypac\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCKYk0y8jxaAg2EpxF3DYX7w"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ba5bb5033c2ca994addf77ce4e69289c","name":"Erick Nova","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/993756bb2b1760db44cbd5d4907505a7?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/993756bb2b1760db44cbd5d4907505a7?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Erick Nova"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/erick-nova-jr\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/author\/erick\/"}]}},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Erick Nova","author_link":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/author\/erick\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"It&#8217;s a common question with a not-so-simple answer: Is paper or plastic better for the environment? The truth is, both materials have environmental impacts, and the better option depends on how the packaging is made, used, and disposed of. If you&#8217;re trying to choose the more eco-friendly option for your business, here&#8217;s what you should&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/727"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4531"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4532,"href":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4531\/revisions\/4532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.morganchaney.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}