Topic: carrier bags

[thifasmom]

When the government eventually bans free carrier bags they should also ban the sale of plastic bags unless they are biodegradable.

completely agree.

I think the point is that if they are free, folk throw them away all over the place. If folk pay for them, they are less likely to litter with them. A decline in 'carrier bag hedges and trees' would not go amiss!! ;)

exactly.

It is not just one or two bags, I try not to take plastic bags but I suppose on average with a big shop end up with about 20 a week, so multiply that by population and it must make a difference and it is not difficult to change one habits. .... I cannot change the world but will carry on doing my little bit. ....

and this is the point i am trying to make.

Milk used to come in bottles which were rinsed and returned.

who knows why milk bottles couldnot stay glass, our so call convenient lifestyles will be the death of us in the end, i sometimes think the lack of regard we show for the earth, spills over into the lack of regard we (i mean mankind, i am not singling any one person out) we show to each other withen our societies. we well deserve to die out. >:(

Waste not want not as my mother used to say. 

i have to young girls and i find myself saying the exact thing to them now, talk about turning into our mums :-X :-\ ;D

[Jeannine]

I use recyclable whenever I can but I still do sometimes get them from the supermarket as they bag the meat in them before we pack. If we buy supermarket fruit we even use the baggies on a roll when we get home for various things.

 John had been saving  plastic bags for about 2 years until last year when we stopped getting them, he is now using them as insulation in his shed between the walls, perhaps still in the system but at least they are being used.

I do give away a lot of produce though and am wondering what to carry it in.

Good idea to restrict yes..to completely ban.. I have mixed feelings.

I remember clearly when we shopped years ago there was always a heap of cardboard boxes in the shop for packing groceries in, for everyday stuff we all carried a shopping bag or in my case a basket, which I still do!!  The boxes were used over and over again, I think that is a good idea but ti makes the front of the shop look messy so probably won't happen.

Interesting post.

XX Jeannine

[honeybee]

I think its brilliant that the supermarkets are finally doing something. As has been mentioned, plastic takes more than a hundred years to break down, I guess for an average family you could easily use 20 plastic bags per each visit to the supermarket, thats over a thousand bags per year per family.

I have recycled for many years,maybe 10-12 years. We have four recyling wheelie bins for different items and I do all that I can to help the environment.
For supermarkets we take our Ikea blue bags, they only cost a few pennies, we keep them in the car and two of them fit nicely into a big shopping trolley and we get our green points from Tesco (although their system annoys me as they only count use for their own Tesco recylicng bags for points)

I think its good to have awareness, this is such a frivolous throw away society and to be encouraged to spare a thought for the environment can only be a good thing!

[thifasmom]

I remember clearly when we shopped years ago there was always a heap of cardboard boxes in the shop for packing groceries in, for everyday stuff we all carried a shopping bag or in my case a basket, which I still do!!  The boxes were used over and over again, I think that is a good idea but ti makes the front of the shop look messy so probably won't happen.

Interesting post.

XX Jeannine

This how I remember it being as well in the West indies when I was growing up, many a Wendy house was built by myself and sister with the large boxes that were used to bring home the groceries at the end of the month :D. But like here, shoppers there also think they can't cope with out the dreaded plastic bags. Our island is much smaller and the waste created from plastic is even more noticeable :(.

The case of the shop front looking to messy needs to be addressed for more safety reasons than anything else (can't have stacks of boxes falling down on people or causing obstructions), we as consumers need to relearn how to shop with our head rather than our eyes ::). If you (I direct this in a collective sense not at any one person) can see what I mean.

[Deb P]

Very interesting post.

I like the idea of using IKEA blue bags, they are a good size and would work for us. The problem I have with the little cloth bags is that they don't hold very much, we seem to get a lot of big boxes and bottles! When I started shopping at Lidl they were a cash only enterprise, and did not supply any bags at all. We soon got used to reusing old ones or using a carboard box to pack in, which they usually have at the checkout areas.

I mourn the big 'egg boxes 'we used to get from the local market when I was a kid in London (they were about 5' x 2' for those of you who have no idea what I'm on about!) ....I lived all the summer holidays in one of those in the back garden, making 'dens'! My mum still laughs about it, what cheap entertainment eh!

[glosterwomble]

... I remember clearly when we shopped years ago there was always a heap of cardboard boxes in the shop for packing groceries in, for everyday stuff we all carried a shopping bag or in my case a basket, which I still do!!  The boxes were used over and over again, I think that is a good idea but ti makes the front of the shop look messy so probably won't happen ...

I have noticed in a couple of our local supermarkets (both Tesco and Asda) that they DO now put cardboard boxes by the tills and opposite the tills by the windows.

I agree with others that this is fantastic news that less bags will be used, I know what ACE is trying to say but as someone else has said on here, once people have to pay for plastic bags they will use them more effectively and not just throw them away.

[valmarg]

Years ago Sainsurys  sold smart boxes.  They were £2.45 each, but were 99p each for every £10.00 you spent,  I have about ten of them, and they are wonderful.  They are very strong, and have many uses around the house/garden.

I use them for putting weeds in, before tipping into the brown recycle bin.  I also use them for putting washing in before pegging out.  You can also buy lids for the boxes.  I store potatoes in a box with a lid.  They have many uses around the house.  An absolute bargain.

I use them every time I go to Sainsburys, and therefore do not need plastic/carrier bags.

A couple of years ago I went to Waitrose, and was approached to have a John Lewis credit card,  I tried to tell them that I didn't need another credit card, but was glad that they persuaded me.  As part of the deal I received four (two large, and two smaller shopping bags), and having spent more than £50.00 got a free coolbag.

The only time I need carrier bags is when I visit any other supermarket.

valmarg

[joie]

honeybee think you should complain to yur tesco`s customer services because you should be getting green points for all the bags you re-use not just your tesco ones.

joie

[tonybloke]

the reason supermarkets let you take home the cardboard is because they have to pay to landfill it! ;)

[glosterwomble]

the reason supermarkets let you take home the cardboard is because they have to pay to landfill it! ;)

Yep sounds about right but surely that is a win win situation??

 Use cardboard box instead of plastic, it doesn't get put in landfill by supermarket, no plastic littering planet and then when we have finished with the box we can recycle the cardboard, I put mine in my compost bins as brown ingredient.

[kt.]

The supermarkets are crowing about how much they care for the environment, but will  sell you plastic bags instead.

No doubt some supermarkets will be stopping free carrier bags just to increase the till rings for larger profits on the saleable ones.  How do you know just how many bags of shopping you will be buying for the family. 

What about issuing brown paper bags for your shopping.  They would then decompose.

[timf]

My local ASDA decided to stop plastic bags way back when it first became a political subject. (I think that was back in April/May - around local election time).

I think they stopped for a whole week before giving in.

we got done at asda for this one a full months shopping in three trolleys. Where are the bags to pack in i asked. sorry we aren't doing free ones any more they will be 3p each.
ever seen the chaos you cause when you leave 3 full trolleys by the checkout 1 full of frozen stuff and walk out of the store.

Still haven't been back

[valmarg]

It's even better if you've got most of the stuff on the conveyor belt.

Tesco used to be dreadful.  You'd put all your shopping on the belt, then some jobsworth supervisor and a security guard used to come up to the till and start cashing up, taking away notes and giving bags of change to the checkout girl
They used to take ages, checking off this that and the other.  We had great pleasure, having been exasperated waiting ages to tell them, 'when you've done that, you can put that lot back on the shelves', and then walk out. ;D ;D ;D

valmarg

[kenkew]

I bought a large roll of 'bio-degradable' poo bags for when me and dog go walk-about. The girl at the counter put it into a plastic bag.

I'll worry about the environment when the practice of 'One man-one airplane' and the like ceases.

[twinkletoes]

Well I reckon we should make the most of those boxes which are kindly left for the customers to pack their goodies in because once H&S get to hear about it you can bet they will put a stop to it............."it is dangerous to leave it there because it could catch fire" or "it is dangerous because if there was a fire it could cause a hazard in a panic situation"....   ::) ::)
twinkletoes

[texas01]

I don't drive so have my shopping delivered. I alternate between Asda, Tesco and Salisbury's and without fail they all seem to put just one or two items in each bag. I have toothpaste in a bag on it's own, shampoo in another, baked beans in another and on it goes. I get on average 42 bags per shop and that's for only £60 worth of shopping! If I had to pack the shopping I could easily get into into seven or eight bags. Often wondered how they can justify this when if I went to the store myself I would be charged for each bag.  ???

[Amazin]

if I went to the store myself I would be charged for each bag.

Have you checked your receipt?

 ;D

[texas01]

Have you checked your receipt?

I hadn't until now but pleased to say they haven't charged me.  ;)

[Amazin]

 ;D

[springbok]

What happened to the thick brown paper bags that they still use today in the states.  At least they can go in our compost bins!!
Bring back the brown paper bag with handles!!.