Tesco - do you reuse your carriers?

System

I shop online so i cant get 'green points' for my Tesco carrier bags. I used to use carriers as bin bags in my house but i dont know if they have changed the plastic they use but i dont find them as strong these days. Plus the majority of the shopping in carrier bags are tied in a knot at the store so i end up cutting the handles to get the contents out. Unfortunately the majority go straight in the bin.

sans_2

I reuse for environmental reasons whereever I go. I always have at least one bag for life bag in my handbag and usually another carrier bag.

I do take some bags from supermarkets, particularly if the shop wasn't planned or I need more bags than the 2 I normally carry, but i always reuse these at home as bin liners. If I know I am doing a big shop I will take 6-7 bags.

Even the carrier bags I use to recycle bottles get taken back home to re-use as bin liners. Any ripped bags are taken back to Tesco's carrier recycling.

At work, I get mail delivered by couriers which use those thick recyclable bags. I normally take those home to use as bin liners or to Tescos for recycling if too small or has a rip.

Even though I very rarely take any bags my OH does and will even blooming pay 9p for a bag in Lidl every time he goes there which annoys me. He occasionally bins the random carrier bag, when I spot this it either goes into the recycling pile or tucked at the back of the main bin to be used as the next bin liner.

If son has a very smally nappy I quickly bin it and put out with the main bin rather than having to put it in a smaller bag to mask the smell.

I have half a cupboard of carrier bags (use to be a full cupboard but I had to be ruthless and take them to Tescos for recycling) which is a bit ridiculous but can't bring myself to take more of them to Tescos for recycling. I'd rather re-use them first. Mad I know...

SaverSarah_2

Hi there, I reuse for environmental reasons too, always refuse carriers in shops as much as possible, and always take my Tesco bags for life with me when I'm grocery shopping, to Asda, Sainsburys, Tesco... wherever.

Even though you may not see people reusing in store, a lot of my friends who wouldn't do this do actually save them up and give them to their driver for recycling when they have their online shop delivered.

maow425

We've re-used bags for ages, but they were the big woven ones from Wilko's (50p each). When Tesco started the "green points" the checkout staff only used to give us 1 point for these bags as well:mad: , so now - to get my money's worth out of the company that made £1bn in 6 months:mad: - we use normal carrier bags at the checkout (normally manage to reuse about 15 bags each week) and when we get to the car, these will usually fit in 4-5 of the big Wilko ones. So as well as reusing bags, I'm also getting 15 points instead of 4-5 every single week.:T

SusanCarter

I usually refuse carrier bags and use my own bag at all shops except for supermarkets. I don't reuse bags at the supermarket as it is in our rental cotract that all rubbish placed in the wheelie bin must be in bags and I'd rather get them free than be buying bin liners. I suppose at Tesco they now effectively cost 4p but I rarely shop there anyway.

Linda32

I use bags for life for shopping and always refuse the extra bags which food is wrapped in. I've never had any problem in refusing them.

At home, if we do happen to have carriers, (as I don't always remember the bag for life), a carrier is used in a shreader bin to catch the paper. This is then composted and the carrier re-used.

I can't use them in our kitchen bin as its a swingbin rather than a peddle bin. So carriers are too small.

We use carriers in out kitchen compost bin, (food stuff waiting to go in the composter) - the composter is at the lottie.

I reuse the carrier in the bathroom bin as well. We also put big things straight in the dustbin, (whatever it may be) rather than filling up the kitchen bin bag too quick and mainly with fresh air.

Poppea

I just don't use plastic carrier bags full stop!! It's purely for environmental reasons. I have a very small rubbish bin in the kitchen. Any waste is put into the bags that bread, potatoes, toilet rolls, etc come in. One bread bag normally holds about five days worth of rubbish. I try to recycle most things which go straight into either the green bin, box or compost bin.
For supermarket shopping, (when I drive), I use two cardboard boxes which have served me well for eight years now. When I walk I use reuseable hessian bags. Even when I do other types of shopping I whip out my homemade tote bags. You have to act quick though!

greentomato

There doesn't seem to be much advertising anymore for the Tesco's green points. At first they use to give me my point for reusing a bag but now I've noticed that they usually forget, which is annoying. The new staff don't seem to be very aware of it.

I wonder if Tesco will quietly 'forget' about this scheme, like Sainsbury's did with their '1p for reusing a carrier bag' scheme a few years ago? :rolleyes:

tomstickland

Carrier bags are not well suited to carrying groceries. I've decided to start taking my own large plastic boxes to the supermarket with me.The large plastic stacking boxes you can buy for £3 ish.

SusanCarter

Poppea wrote:

Even when I do other types of shopping I whip out my homemade tote bags. You have to act quick though!

What gets me is when you buy something like a packet of paracetamol in somewhere like boots or a book from somewhere like the works and they put them in a tiny little bag with no handles and sometimes the item being bought sticks out the bag. When I see them doing it I say I'll put it in my own bag, they still seem to think I should want the plastic bag which isn't even a carrier bag. I just can't understand the point of them.