Say NO to plastic bags

yummymsmummy

I'm currently looking for a few jute/hessian bags to put 'green' christmas presents in

I know Tesco do one - got one myself, the one with ladybirds and huge advertising on.. and Asda do one which is a bit too small for what i need. Anyone seen any of the tesco-size ones anywhere else?

Annoyingly i saw two people today carrying perfect ones - one had the 'fairtrade' logo on and the other had a dictionary-type discription of recylcling, should have asked i know :mad: I don't really want to buy online as the prices are a bit too high (£3.50 upwards + p&p :rolleyes:)

Can anyone help? x

economiser

A_fiend_for_life wrote: »

Once you eliminate food waste, or reduce it significantly, you really don't need a bin bag or carrier bag. Or you can just tip the contents in the bin and reuse the bag. I still slip into using a carrier bag though this is force of habit rather than need.

We compost almost everything compostable even though there is some debate about the safety of composting food waste. However not everything we bin is dry and I don't want to go back to the old days of washing out the bin after use. The environmental impact of water and detergent use might be greater than using a degradable shopping bag? I just think we have to get things in proportion. The supermarkets don't want to take action on their own but the government would love to be seen to be being "forced" to legislate and impose a "penalty" charge. The supermarkets would increase their profit and the government would take about 15% of the cost in VAT. M&S say there 5p goes to charity but in fact nearly a penny goes in VAT.

mech_2

economiser wrote: »

We compost almost everything compostable even though there is some debate about the safety of composting food waste.

I don't think there's a safety issue unless you're planning to grow your own root vegetables. My compost only goes on flower beds and usually has cat poo in it anyway, as they poo on my lawn and thus the lawn mowings are contaminated (I pick up the bulk of it with a plastic bag before I mow, but it usually leaves a residue).

However not everything we bin is dry and I don't want to go back to the old days of washing out the bin after use. The environmental impact of water and detergent use might be greater than using a degradable shopping bag? I just think we have to get things in proportion.

Then don't wash the bin, let it get dirty. It's a bin. I've never understood the whole bin-washing phenomenon. What do people use their bins for apart from putting rubbish in? Who sees it apart from the bin-men when they empty it (and when it's full of rubbish anyway).

The supermarkets don't want to take action on their own but the government would love to be seen to be being "forced" to legislate and impose a "penalty" charge. The supermarkets would increase their profit and the government would take about 15% of the cost in VAT. M&S say there 5p goes to charity but in fact nearly a penny goes in VAT.

Who says the supermarkets would increase their profits? Maybe it would just enable them to compete more aggressively on prices?

A_fiend_for_life

economiser wrote: »

We compost almost everything compostable even though there is some debate about the safety of composting food waste. However not everything we bin is dry and I don't want to go back to the old days of washing out the bin after use. The environmental impact of water and detergent use might be greater than using a degradable shopping bag? I just think we have to get things in proportion. The supermarkets don't want to take action on their own but the government would love to be seen to be being "forced" to legislate and impose a "penalty" charge. The supermarkets would increase their profit and the government would take about 15% of the cost in VAT. M&S say there 5p goes to charity but in fact nearly a penny goes in VAT.

I don't know the reasons for the governments not forcing a minimum charge on bags I suspect retail lobbying is probably the reason. The effect would be more people would reuse them. It's unusual that a bean counter refuses to create revenue stream. Assuming there is vat on carrier bags.

I dont have wet waste myself so perhaps circumstances are different.

MABLE

A friend of mine who works in Marks and Spencer said this shopper was complaining about the 5p charge for their bags. She instead walked out of store with about 8 items in her hand. The next thing is she returned to the store in a panic. Because she had been too mean to pay the 5p she dropped her purse with alot of money in. Poetic justice.

more777

well maybe in future she will reuse bags when she goes shopping, saving her 5p! and doing her small bit for the environment.

jetskidia

I use my carrier bags as bin liners, so no we must keep carrier bags at all costs!!!

jetskidia

MABLE wrote: »

A friend of mine who works in Marks and Spencer said this shopper was complaining about the 5p charge for their bags. She instead walked out of store with about 8 items in her hand. The next thing is she returned to the store in a panic. Because she had been too mean to pay the 5p she dropped her purse with alot of money in. Poetic justice.

I go to M&S fill up a trolley put it through the till and when the shop refuses to give me a carrier bag i just walk away leaving the shop to sort out the blocked till with shopping everywhere:p

Magentasue

I think that I should get free carrier bags.:D Not everyone else though. ;)But I should because I rarely accept them these days, usually having a collection of fabric bags with me. Sometimes, though, I forget to take bags, decide to get some unplanned shopping or need a few for bin liners.

MABLE

jetskidia wrote: »

I go to M&S fill up a trolley put it through the till and when the shop refuses to give me a carrier bag i just walk away leaving the shop to sort out the blocked till with shopping everywhere:p

Sounds like you are a bit of a theatrical queen.