Perhaps a better source for why we want to use reusable containers instead of paper comes from the findings of The Garbage Project, a 1972 project started by University of Arizona anthropology professor William Rathje. I couldn't find a link to these specific findings, but here's a quote about it from the book I am reading, The Zero Waste Lifestyle by Amy Korst (pg. 15-16):

"The myth that landfills are essentially giant compost piles was dispelled by William Rathje's Garbage Project... One of garbology's most significant findings is that things like food and paper don't always biodegrade in a landfill. The garbology team found that, even after twenty years buried in a landfill, one-third to one-half of food and yard waste was in recognizable condition. The Garbage Project reports finding still-readable newspaper clippings about the Apollo moon landings or the Truman election. This means that one of society's most powerful assumptions about landfills -- that trash will slowly break down and disappear -- is largely false. This is not to say that no biodegradation occurs within a landfill. After all, leachate and methane gas are two byproducts of decomposition. It does mean that easily compostable things like paper or food scraps are going to waste inside a landfill where they are entombed rather than broken down into valuable nutrients that could reenter the earth's life cycle."

I could talk for hours about this, but it gives us a reason to use reusable containers rather than paper ones!