You’ve got to love Whole Foods’ desire to help the environment by no longer using plastic bags. But you have to wonder who called this shot. Though well intended, at best it’s a misfire.

According to Business First, the 270-store chain will shift to 100-percent recycled paper bags on Earth Day, April 22. The belief is that if not recycled, the paper bags at least will break down in the landfill, unlike plastic.

Ahh, but it doesn’t happen quite that easy. Paper will break down if, and only if, it gets plenty of sunlight, warmth, air and water—all from regular rotation, like a huge compost bin. And we all know that doesn’t happen at the landfill, where garbage is piled up to suffocating and sun-free depths.

Additionally, paper bags weigh a ton more than plastic, so the fuel burned to move the same number of paper bags as plastic probably negates any initial benefit to the environment. Plus, paper is incredibly energy intense to produce when compared to plastic bags, which, in a lot of cases, were born of recycled materials, too.

So what’s the point?

Good PR to be sure, and I’m not knocking them for that. Mr. Capitalist calls that a swell strategy.

Ultimately the company hopes it’ll make a statement about ecology that’ll motivate its customers to even start bringing their own reusable bags. I like that idea a lot, too, but I doubt many will do it without some incentive like giving out Whole Foods-branded reusable bags or perhaps a discount for using other non-branded bags.