Say NO to plastic bags

elisebutt65

See the wally Trolley thread - if it' s still going.

I never leave the house without my pink Rolser trolley now

As for SA's not letting me out the shop without a bag - I just grab it off them when they're doing the payment stuff and drop it in!! If someone inisisted on putting it in a bag then I'd take it - take item out - put it in my trolley and give them the bag back!!!

I used to use the bags for life, but was forever forgetting to take them with me - I can't forget the pink thing - lol:rotfl:

rlm_3

The plastic 'bags for life' can be really useful and tend to last along time but surely it's better to use one made from natural materials. AFAIK plastic is made from oil, which is a fossil fuel and not sustainable.

I have a jute bag and a couple of cotton ones, when I remember to use them and it's really easy to throw the cotton ones in the wash when they get a bit grubby.

Someone was saying on the OS board that they have introduced a tax on plastic bags in Ireland. Now shops charge for them but apparently nobody seems to mind, people just take their own.

ma6jrp

I know Sainsburys about a year or so ago started giving a 1p rebate for every plastic bag that you didn't use ie you fill up 4 of your own bags and they knock 4p off your shopping.

I'm not sure if they still do it (I don't think so), but they never had any posters or info about it. I think it must have popped up on the screen at the end of the transaction.

They probably got rid of it to speed up the checkouts!

rlm_3

ma6jrp wrote:

I know Sainsburys about a year or so ago started giving a 1p rebate for every plastic bag that you didn't use ie you fill up 4 of your own bags and they knock 4p off your shopping.

I'm not sure if they still do it (I don't think so), but they never had any posters or info about it. I think it must have popped up on the screen at the end of the transaction.

They probably got rid of it to speed up the checkouts!

I don't know if they still do this or not. A couple of years ago I used my backpack instead of a carrier there and the cashier gave me a penny back. It hasn't happened to me since but I haven't been brave enough to ask. That good ol' British reserve!

C_Ronaldo

ma6jrp

i can confirm that sainsburys have stopped giving the customer 1p for every bag they reused when they did their shopping, i think the supermarkets should charge for the bags like aldi and lidl do

DO_YOU_KNOW_DAVE

Maybe MSE should start a campaign on this issue like the Voderman one!

Also ,I don't know if I read it here or somewhere else but the Womens Institute in Germany organised all there members to shop on the same day and leave all the unnecessary packaging behind after paying.

C_Ronaldo

also in lidl and aldi customers use the empty boxes that would otherwise be compacted which is good

Gray0103

nabowla wrote:

At the moment I say 'yes' to plastic bags. I used to buy special plastic bin liners for the kitchen and bathroom bins. Now I use old supermarket bags as bin liners. By doing this I'm saving money and have reduced wastage.

Agreed, what your doing here is reusing the bag, so thats ok ethically, as its the best thing after not using one in the first place.

quickstepqueen

I've bought a couple of resuable bags (a wilko's one and a home bargains one)and they are brilliant for the weekly shop. I hang them from the trolley, aswell as my 2 coolbags (which also hold loads of other carriers) and pop into Asda's. Like many others I've had weird looks but what the hell??? I'm doing my bit for the environment and it feels good.

I think other people should be more organised. I think that's the key. Thinking ahead. If I call into town and have forgotten to take my bags with me I feel awful about using carriers.

I work in a butchers and always ask the customer if they would like a bag. The weird thing is that sometimes a customer who's got a reusable bag (like a M&S one) will still ask for a carrier, even though what they've bought won't ruin other things e.g. sliced ham, plum loaf. I have one customer who still uses a traditional wicker basket, and I have noticed a growing number of customers who either reuse one of our own carrier bags or who pop their goods into another bag. Obviously the message is getting across but it's sooooo slow.

scootermacc

nabowla wrote:

At the moment I say 'yes' to plastic bags. I used to buy special plastic bin liners for the kitchen and bathroom bins. Now I use old supermarket bags as bin liners. By doing this I'm saving money and have reduced wastage. However, I'm open to suggestions if anyone can think of a greener alternative for bin liners.

You can buy biodegradable bin liners online at places like https://www.biobags.co.uk

I've found Tescos and Sainsbury's do plastic bag recycling.
Co-op bags are degradable, not biodegradable, so not ideal, but better.

The best solution would be for the plastic bag tax applicable in Ireland to be introduced here too. Then it'd be a campaign for recycled paper bags!!!