Say NO to plastic bags

C_Ronaldo

if you went to the same big supermarket as im thinking of then the checkout operator has probably been told to do it,

PaleScene

C_Ronaldo wrote:

if you went to the same big supermarket as im thinking of then the checkout operator has probably been told to do it,

Yup, probably, I don't know if they focus on getting everything 'safely bagged' so that there is nothing spilled on the till area but it does seem to be standard practice to expect you to have everything swathed even if you picked it up loose.

I had several encounters with the till staff in Sainsburys back in the day of their iniative where the staff were expected to pack at least the first few items that they scanned. This always led to problems as even if I did manage to insist they used my provided bag I'd still have to reposition the things when I got it back and the flow of quickly getting everything packed up was wrecked most times. I think the reason they would argue about it was that they had been told expressly that they must be seen to be packing bags and perhaps penalised if they didn't - but it didn't leave much leeway for the poor customers to refuse! I went to customer services several times in a ratty mood after these encounters to point out that it was highly uncounterproductive customer relations...

I was very happy to circumvent my own personal failing on Friday - I normally come home with more excess bags from the Farmer's Market than from anywhere else because the goods have less packaging and so sometimes putting them into something before packing in my own bag seems a good idea - I concentrated and didn't take any bags more than I needed.

dellybelly_2

Has anyone seen the foldable crates in Tesco? They had them recently as part of their spring cleaning promotion.I bought 3 of them in January of last year at £1.50 each and keep them in the boot of my car for my shopping trips to Lidl. They're fantastic for when you're doing a big shop or have loads of tins and jars. I thought they were so good I bought my mum and mil 3 each as well (in the sale at 99p each - was I miffed!). I also bought myself a wicker basket in Dublin about 2 years ago, but can't bring myself to use it....

I've also experienced problems (even with my corner shop) in refusing plastic bags. I've now collected a few bags for life that were lying around the house being used for other things and keep them in my handbag and also in the shopping basket of my pram. My best bargain though was a cotton beach bag for £1 from Dunnes..... I've been using it as a shopping bag all week and it's amazing. My biggest problem now is persuading my OH to remember to use them.

PaleScene

I've got one of those foldable crates but haven't seen any more since I bought that one (though I know you can buy a multiple of them in places like B&Q). I keep it in the car boot to stop my bagsforlife-full of shopping from falling over but using it in the trolley is a good plan.

ginger_nuts

linzibean wrote:

I've experienced this too in Primark, very odd attitude.

this is to avoid shoplifting . however Primark /Penneys in Ireland give you a paper bag .in Ireland there is a 15 cent tax on plastic bags and you only get one if you ask and pay for it .

pollys

I take an ecofriendly jute bag to the farm shop (bought from them) one saturday, due to buying quite a lot, I had to have a plastic bag as well as my own, the lady said that they would gladly take the plastic bag back and reuse it. So I'll shall return it next week.

PaleScene

After reading this thread the other day I ended up in the supermarket with it still at the front of my mind. Probably why I noticed so much that there are quite a few Bag-for-life users locally, plus I saw a couple of nice hemp-esque shoppers with ReCycle printed on them - I asked the chap in front where he got his and apparently it was last time the council van was parked out front to promote recycling and they were given out. I was a bit green so shall be looking out for that being there again.

soba

I work in a convenience store, and the amount of bags that are given out is obscene. It's not for want of trying on our behalf. We get people who ask for a bag for one loaf or an onion. I had one lady who bought a multi-pack of toilet rolls that has it's own carrying handle, who asked for a bag, we didn't have one big enough so I had to put the bog rolls in a refuse sack! How ridiculous is that?
We have one lady in particular who asks for a bag every time she comes in. She'll get a bag and ten minutes she's back for something she's forgotten with no bag. When curiosity got the better of me and I asked what she did with them all she said she threw them away! Of course her children are no better because that's all they've ever seen.
I personally think that if there was a 10p charge for carriers like in Ireland, people would think long and hard about taking them, of course at the moment customers think they are 'free'.
We thought about getting some eco-friendly jute or calico bags to give to persistent offenders but we know they'd be used once and they'd never see the light of day again.
Sorry to go on but it really is one of my pet hates.

speedy_gonzalez

Our branch of TK Maxx has some natural material shopping bags by the tills. Can't remember the exact price but I think they were around £2-3.

speedy_gonzalez

Do any highstreet stores sell biodegradable bin bags? I'm considering getting another couple of shopping bags and using those instead of carrier bags (reused at present as bin bags). More environmentally friendly and less hassle at the checkout as they are:
a)Easier to open
b)Handles don't rip
c)Have the ability to carry more than a gnat in weight!