paper bags vs compostable bags

[Anonymous]

Assuming the bags won't be put into recycling or compost bins once used (because they will contain pet waste/litter that can't be recycled or composted) and will go in the trash, which is better for the environment: paper bags or compostable/bioplastic bags?

[Anonymous]

Nothing decomposes in a landfill. It’s a super compressed, largely oxygen free environment. Decomposition is greatly reduced in that situation. Plastic, paper, doesn’t matter. It’s all going to sit there in stasis for thousands of years.

[Anonymous]

Agree with the landfill statement. Much of my Montgomery County trash goes to the Dickerson waste to energy plant and I'm guessing not much difference between paper and bioplastic. Both will burn.

My big issue with grocery bags is the huge number that end up as litter. I'm not yet convinced of how quickly a bioplastic bag will breakdown when it lands in the gutter in Wheaton (and what does it break down into?)