Plastic wads do pattern tighter. Many places just dont want plastic anything left behind. Seems minor to us but they last a long time and enough of them will be seen as trash in the end. Ive picked up countless old plastics empties, over the years but almost no paper shells. Makes sense to only use quickly broken down wads if possible. Ive tried the biodegradable wads but finding them was a bit of a bother. And I always wondered how fast do they break down and under what conditions? Sunlight over several years might technically be biodegradable but in truth, under those limitations, it means they will clutter things up for years. They do if they last like biodegradable targets last.