New England Communities

The Web page you tried to find has been removed.

EPA's New England regional office removed the "Paper vs. Plastic bag" Web content several years ago after conducting a periodic evaluation of that content for its accuracy. At the time of our review, the Web pages were already several years old, and as we worked on the review of that content we were not able to confirm several of the statements with reliable, authoritative citations. Therefore, we removed the Web content because EPA has an obligation to be certain that we are providing the public with accurate, reliable information.

EPA's key message for people interested in this question continues to be simple:

• Reduce the number of bags you use and discard after one use;
• Re-use bags to reduce the need for new bags;
• Recycle bags when they can no longer be used.

This advice holds true whether consumers choose to use paper, plastic or cotton/canvas bags.

More information on recycling »