Energy Conservation Project research plan

1. Are re-usable grocery bags better than plastic bags? What are the pros and cons?

2. I found some data using google including: www.reusablebags.com , www.sierraclub.org/bags/, and www.bettercontainers.com

Through reading some of the information on these web pages, I found that

• Reusing a bag meant for just one use has a big impact. A sturdy, reusable bag needs only be used 11 times to have a lower environmental impact than using 11 disposable plastic bags.
• In New York City alone, one less grocery bag per person per year would reduce waste by 109 tons and save $11,000 in disposal costs.
• Plastic bags carry 80% of the nation's groceries.

Although, plastic bags have a lower envirenmental impact than paper bags, they still produce a large amount of waste.

3. It will be necessary to collect more data on the subject. I will be searching for numbers and statistics and I will also be searching for a stance on continuuing the use of plastic bags.

4. My methodology will mainly be researching on the internet. I will possibly take a survey at the local grocery store and count the number of people using plastic bags and the number of people using re-usable grocery bags.