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Plastic or paper? Both impact the environment, according to more than a decade of research. That is why some environmentalists say the state's new plastic bag ban law, which makes a 5-cent fee on paper bags or tas kertas optional for counties and cities, is bad public policy that could hurt the environment. And while environmentalists are pleased lawmakers are banning plastic, they predict the law will cause paper bag use to surge in counties such as Nassau, where local politicians have vowed not to implement the fee. The ultimate, they say, would be a required statewide fee on paper — to drive people to reusable bags — but that probably will have to wait for another legislative session. "We've seen the result of what happens. People switch from one type of disposable bag to another, and we don’t have a clear environmental benefit," said Jennie Romer, founder of  plasticbaglaws.org and a Manhattan-based sustainability consultant who has worked across the cou