# Cardboard or Plastic? (Let's do the twist, again) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 26, 2025, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardboard-or-plastic-lets-do-the-twist-again/1013415 "2025-01-26T02:24:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardboard-or-plastic-lets-do-the-twist-again/1013415/1 "2025-01-26T02:24:53Z")
Not the usual environment question. I don’t think. My nice loaf of new bread (Nature’s own, Keto. Low carbs). It had a hardened cardboard clip thingy(it must have a name) You know, the square thing with a hole and slot. You have to twist it on or off. The plastic ones fail occasionally, But this cardboard one failed the first twist. I have saved those plastic ones for these many years. I have a gallon jar nearly full. Back when I bought much more bread, they had the paper covered wire ties. I used to save those if they were striped-y. (I have a thing for stripes.) Then I found out you could order a gazillion of them. Any color or stripe. For a few dollars. So, of course I ordered a gross. Cause I’m seriously _stooopid_. Haven’t found a reliable re-use for them. Yet. Doesn’t stop me. I have hoarder tendency in the worst way. I collect used paperclips too. Anywhosit, the hard cardboard or plastic bread thingy(really, it needs a name); Which one is more environmental? Which go away faster in landfills? Which is cheaper/cleaner to produce? Which uses less resources? Which ruins more resources? Which is more consumer friendly. Like “don’t break” the first twist. Please. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardboard-or-plastic-lets-do-the-twist-again/1013415/2 "2025-01-26T06:14:38Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > It had a hardened cardboard clip thingy(it must have a name) You know, the square thing with a hole and slot. You have to twist it on or off. > . . . > Anywhosit, the hard cardboard or plastic bread thingy(really, it needs a name); Bread clip is the most common name (see Wiki [Bread clip - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_clip)). But since it can be used on bags of products other than bread, the proper name is _bag closure clip_. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardboard-or-plastic-lets-do-the-twist-again/1013415/3 "2025-01-26T06:44:21Z")
Cardboard bag closure clips are durable. My neighbor uses those to bag small packages at a large scale shipping distributor. He says sometimes he can use them on 13 or 14 different bags, dead-lifting them into trucks before they get torn too much. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardboard-or-plastic-lets-do-the-twist-again/1013415/4 "2025-01-26T07:46:06Z")
I have yet to see those bread closure dealies in cardboard. The plastic ones are bad enough. I hate them Gimme a wire twistie any day! I put the plastic ones (sometimes they’re on bags of potatoes) where they belong, then I reach in the drawer for a wire twistie. Where do those plastic closure dealies belong? In the trash, of course! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardboard-or-plastic-lets-do-the-twist-again/1013415/5 "2025-01-26T08:11:28Z")
My friend from grade-school once told me (so long ago I don’t remember the details) that either he or someone in his family had met the guy who ‘invented’ that thing, and he was a fabulously wealthy person because of it. I could probably Google it, but not really that invested in that knowledge. I’ve used them as a substitute for a Cotter Pin in low stress applications. It was just Dumb luck that it was the perfect size. And that’s all I’ll say about that! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardboard-or-plastic-lets-do-the-twist-again/1013415/6 "2025-01-26T08:22:55Z")
My brother says they are good substitute guitar picks. But I have a guitar pick punch. Gimme the right plastic and you can pick to your hearts content. ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardboard-or-plastic-lets-do-the-twist-again/1013415/7 "2025-01-26T08:51:05Z")
I have yet to see a cardboard one. The plastic ones are phenomenally successful in their design - IF the main design feature is to be able to fall from your clumsy fingers and blend in with the pattern of any tablecloth or flooring in a manner reminiscent of the evil Randall character in _Monsters Inc_. And by “your clumsy fingers” I mean “my clumsy fingers.” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardboard-or-plastic-lets-do-the-twist-again/1013415/8 "2025-01-26T16:02:02Z")
Regardless of type or material, I chuck them immediately on first opening and use a clothespin. I find the plastic clips the worst of the worst: hard to remove and tearing the bag. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardboard-or-plastic-lets-do-the-twist-again/1013415/9 "2025-01-26T18:27:28Z")
We do a _twist and fold_ maneuver on our bread bag after the bag clip is removed. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardboard-or-plastic-lets-do-the-twist-again/1013415/10 "2025-01-26T18:36:41Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Which one is more environmental? > Which go away faster in landfills? > Which is cheaper/cleaner to produce? > Which uses less resources? > Which ruins more resources? I dunno about bread clips but I recall when (decades ago now) McDonalds started using paper containers for their sandwiches. Environmentalists were angry about their Styrofoam containers which would persist in landfills. Thing is, the paper ones mean chopping down trees in great numbers and processing paper is energy intensive, uses lots of water and uses chemicals dumped into the environment. So, is Styrofoam worse? Certainly debatable. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardboard-or-plastic-lets-do-the-twist-again/1013415/11 "2025-01-26T18:44:49Z")
@Beckdawrek Our bread bags get the twist next to the bread, then open the end and pull over the end of the loaf maneuver. Oh, and keep the heel as you remove the slices you need. It keeps the rest of the bread fresher, and then you have two heels for the final sandwich. I can’t do the same tactic with a bag of potatoes. That’s when a saved wire twistie tie is useful. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardboard-or-plastic-lets-do-the-twist-again/1013415/12 "2025-01-26T19:38:32Z")
Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardboard-or-plastic-lets-do-the-twist-again/1013415/13 "2025-01-28T13:42:15Z")
When I had young kids I read a newspaper article about a child swallowing a plastic bread closure clip and needing emergency surgery. The clip, due to its design, had snagged somewhere in the alimentary canal. Supposedly it was a common problem with animals as well if they ate one. So I just started tearing them in half and throwing them in the bin. I then simply twist and fold back the bread bag. I still automatically do it 30 or 40 years later. I often get puzzled looks if people see me do it.