Charging for carrier bags!

[NotAllThere]

There is a 5p carrier bag charge in Wales full stop, it not only encourages recycling but also the money goes to charity should you need to buy carrier bags.

I was reading about that. They'll supply thin small bags for free, to put meat in and the like, but if a bag monitor spots you putting an apple and a twix in such a bag, you'll be fined.

Switzerland still has the strong paper bags for groceries and they have to charge for them by law, save the environment and all that. For clothes, books and electrical items etc the (normally plastic) bag is free.

The idea is to use them more than once and it's your choice whether you pick one up or not. I got caught out the other week when I didn't have one with me and the shop had run out of paper bags. 1.50 sorted me out with a strong cloth one instead, and I regarded that as an investment, even though it has an advert for a cut price naff place on it (don't knock it though, they have am excellent wine section).

Denner - best place for booze.

The paper bags last about ten minutes if you're caught in the rain.

[SueEllen]

Top Tip!

Sainsbury's: beginning of transaction:
"Are you using any of your own bags?"
"Yes"
Requsting authorisation....

End of transation:
"Did you use your any of your own bags?"
"Yes"
"Enter number"
"63"
"Your bags will be added to your green Nectar points"

Marks and Spencers are even better:
"Did you use one of our carrier bags?"
"No"

You can then take a carrier bag that costs 5p

[SueEllen]

Re-usable bags tend to be made from dense plastic, sometimes tens or more in magnitude than disposable plastic bags. Studies have shown they are on average only re-used a few times before being "recycled" for a new one.

Depends on the quality of the plastic and the type of bag.

The 10p ones can only be used a few times before they are recycled so are a waste of money. They get holes in very easily.

The thick ones that cost a £1 at full price most women I know leave them in their car so they can use them shopping. (In fact I have some that are over 5 years old which were stolen of a house mate.)

There are also the fabric/plastic shoppers brought from a variety of shops including supermarkets which are used by women for months as they are a fashion accessory.

Rucksacs, which most men seem to go shopping with in London, cost a hell of a lot more than a £1 and are definitely used plenty of times.

Point is that you don't need to use a plastic bag for your shopping you can use any bag.

Also one reason why I know lots of people use their own bags is that they are fed up of being swamped by plastic bags at home.

[wim121]

Depends on the quality of the plastic and the type of bag.

The 10p ones can only be used a few times before they are recycled so are a waste of money. They get holes in very easily.

Yes, these are more harmful than standard bags. I havent had one last beyond three uses before (a while bag shops tried handing them out instead of free bags). The handles go like string, even if you dont fill them up much and if something rubs against the side slightly, a hole wears through very quickly.

There are also the fabric/plastic shoppers brought from a variety of shops including supermarkets which are used by women for months as they are a fashion accessory.

The fabric ones are also quite energy intensive, however if they are used time and again, as well as an accessory like a handbag then that seems reasonable.

It seems a shame that hemp gets such negative connotations as it really is a great product and far friendlier to the environment.

Rucksacs, which most men seem to go shopping with in London, cost a hell of a lot more than a £1 and are definitely used plenty of times.

Indeed, I still have rucksacks and holdalls that Ive had for over a decade. However only hobo's shop with a rucksack

Point is that you don't need to use a plastic bag for your shopping you can use any bag.

I beg to differ, you do need plastic bags.

I am the most environmentally friendly person I know in my locale, because I expressly use only "free" carrier bags. I never use the small ones. I get the normal ones from the likes of tesco and asda, who use bags that completely degrade within six months. A tip here is to pack them properly and tie the handles up so your stuff stays in the bag in the car and you use less bags.

Once I get my shopping home, every single carrier bag gets re-used as a bin liner. My council wont empty a bin if there is any loose waste in it at all, everything must be bagged. Also everything must be household waste, any bagged plaster off the walls for instance like when you're redecorating and they will try to fine you. It is like living under the Stalin of bin controls and heaven forbid, that you forget to bring your bin in one night or put it out too early the previous day! Then expect a snooty letter threatening you with a fine.

My point is, a lot of councils wont accept loose waste, so if one doesnt use "free" carrier bags, they need to buy bin liners or black bin bags which dont degrade properly and contain much more plastic. I rarely ever by any additional bags at all.

[Sysman]

In Cloggers if you want a bag you pay for it, they don't supply placcy bags at the till. They're normally just before the till area so you can add them to your shopping.

Even at the market, it's expected that you bring your own carrier bags for whatever you buy.

So you make sure you have your heavy duty bags before you go to the shops.

Same in Switzerland.. A rucksack is a handy thing to take on your daily commute because apart from laptop and other bits and bats, you have room for the odd too-good-to-be-missed bargain, and you still have two hands free for shopping bags.

[Sysman]

It's only a big deal in the UK (apart from Wales) because shops stopped charging for carrier bags sometime in the mid-1980s.

You've just reminded me of a small protest some of the Friends of the Eartth gang did back in my college days. They refused bags on green grounds, and were told that issuing a bag to all customers was an ant-theft measure: anyone carrying goods out of a shop without a bag was obviously a thief!

I have no issue with bringing my own carrier bags or other bags but the things that irritate me are:
1. shop assistants who can clearly see you have no bags and ask you if you need one,
2. shop assistants who immediately shove your one small item into a large carrier bag when you have some bags with you, and
3. self-checkouts that cannot cope with people using their own bags and the fact that these bags may have other stuff in them i.e. book, shopping list and pen.

Too much service? Or are they simply trying to use you to advertise?

[Sysman]

Denner - best place for booze.

Yup. And there's one at both ends of my commute too. Someone in the office recently discovered some fine wines at good prices in Aldi too.

The paper bags last about ten minutes if you're caught in the rain.

True, and boy does it chuck it down when it decides to. The only problem I've had on that front though was when I left some shopping in the car for too long and something frozen melted. Shopping all over the road, but hey, this is Switzerland and it was all still there after nipping into the house to retrieve a couple of new bags.

[Sysman]

Also one reason why I know lots of people use their own bags is that they are fed up of being swamped by plastic bags at home.

That was definitely the case when I was in the UK. I had a kitchen cupboard full of 'em!

[SueEllen]

Indeed, I still have rucksacks and holdalls that Ive had for over a decade. However only hobo's shop with a rucksack

They are called cyclists and students.

Granted some students who are also cyclists look like hobos, but a lot of cyclists are people with jobs including professional ones who happen to cycle to and from work and stop at the supermarket on the way home.

I beg to differ, you do need plastic bags.

Not to put shopping in.

To put rubbish in, wrap nappies or pick up dog mess yes you need plastic bags.

[wim121]

Not to put shopping in.

To put rubbish in, wrap nappies or pick up dog mess yes you need plastic bags.

So isnt it best that you use the least amount of plastic, like those in a free bag for your rubbish? If they have more than one use, like carrying your food home and being rubbish bags, isnt that better than bin liners which only get one use?