A 3 column by 5 row table. Column 1 is titled Activity with the following entries: use of materials in production, release of carbon in production, energy use in production, water use in production, litter in oceans. Column 2 is titled Plastic with the following entries: +++, ++, ++, +, . Column 3 is titled Paper with the following entries: , , , +++, +. Gina’s community is considering whether it should ban the use of plastic bags. Help her analyze the costs and benefits of using plastic and paper bags by completing the paragraph.

Based on the data presented,
bags have less impact on Earth’s resources. Even though
bags have less impact on organisms in the oceans, the production of
bags uses more of Earth’s materials and releases more carbon into the atmosphere.