Is anyone else fed up of Plastic bags?

Queen.Bess

I have 3 reusable bags, a sainsbury's fabric one, a free jute one from the council and my pigsback bag! The just one is good as that folds up very small! But all of them are surprisingly strong, as I tend to lug my library books about in them, so I am very pleased! My DH also got a 'free tesco bag for life voucher' with a recent tesco healthy living club mailing, so I shall use that next time I'm in there!

HugoSP

If I go an buy a few items from an independent shop or such like, I tend to turn down the plastic bag if I can carry them undaided.

We use all our plastic bags for rubbish. My wife's car boot is full of the stonger Lidl ones that she uses. I think lidl charge for plastic bags.

In fact when shops charge for plastic bags it does focus the mind. Maybe that's what the supermarkets should do. In Cornwall there is a shopping chain called Trago Mills. As far as I can remember they have always charged for plastic bags. Their reasoning is that their goods are mega cheap anyway - which they are. They sell a lot of end of line and bankrupt stock etc. Much of their stuff is branded but a third of the price of anywhere else.

We have got into the habit of taking plastic bags when we go to Trago Mills, or fining a way to do without them

jayarr_2

i try and remember to take my own bags when i go to the supermarket, but as i use carrier bags as bin bags, i also use what bags i get for this..what do you use is you dont have carrier bags..?

scorpio_princess

I too hate plastic carrier bags :mad: They are very bad for the environment and not just from a decomposition point of view - if you ever drive past a lay-by on a main A road, they'll nearly always be a hideous glut of carrier bags (seem to be tesco a lot of the time) scattered all over the grass verge, and stuck in bushes and trees. It makes me really upset to think that people just don't care about what they're throwing away - out of sight, out of mind I suppose.

I was in Australia a couple of years ago, and I have to say they take the environment and wildlife quite seriously - I was asked in pretty much every shop if I really needed a bag, and if I do, i'd be better to get a reuseable one made of natural fibres.

Would it really be that much more expensive for shops to provide shopping bags made from recycled paper? At least if people do need to take a bag, the impact on the environment would be a lot less severe.

I think there should be a big campaign to get people to re-use their bags - shops should charge for them (and then invest the money into environmental projects). If people absolutely have to throw away plastic bags, they should cut them up so animals can't get caught up in them.

oldMcDonald

tomstickland wrote:

When I go to the supermarket I prefer to fill a large cardboard box with my shopping. It's far easier to transport. Sadly, one day I'm sure some health and safety idiot will decree that reusing old boxes is dangerous in some way.

I tried doing this, but I got stopped at the door by security and had to show my reciept and get the shopping 'glanced' over by them whilst looking at the reciept. Everyone stared at me and I was really embarresed. I did contact the manager who as full of appologies but said that they had a huge shoplifting problem and so they tended to check most people who had shopping without bags.

I didn't try it again:mad:

TrikerAndBiker

I visited Southern Ireland last year and was delighted to find that in all shops you are required to pay for a carrier bag, the money then goes to the government to fund environmental projects. I asked a checkout operator how the charging for bags had been received by customers and she replied that everyone now brings in reusable and I have to admit that there was a distinct lacking of bags littering the streets and countryside. On returning home I tackled the Welsh Assembly about this issue and was surprised to be told that whilst the Assembly was supporting a voluntary scheme in supermarkets it didnt think that the general public could be 'forced' into paying for bags!!! Hmmmm needless to say I shan't be letting this one drop!!

rach

i have loads of reuseable bags and keep some in the car as well we at home. they are really useful. however, i've now hardly got any plastic bags left to use in my kitchen bin! other bins i just take out and empty, but the kitchen one i put in the bags!

edwara

I try my best not to use plastic bags so have been loking for an alternative I can carry anywhere with me and the best thing I found is an Onyabag (becuase you;ve always got one onya!) they go into their own carry pouch small enough to fit in teh plam of your hand easily, are made of parachue silk so very strong and can either be carried in your hand like a normal plastic bag or have a caribiner(?!) that can clip on to make a shoulder strap. They also do rucksacks and courier style bags. I bought everyone one for christmas! You get them online. They are easily the smallest I have found and go in your pocket.

Zagu

TrikerAndBiker wrote:

I visited Southern Ireland last year and was delighted to find that in all shops you are required to pay for a carrier bag, the money then goes to the government to fund environmental projects.

I was going to say the same. Ireland have taken the lead on this and why, five years later, we havent followed is beyond me. It clearly works well, and once people get their shopping bags, and remember to take them to the shop, it can only be a good thing. It would be nice if the shopping bags that the supermarkets sold were jute bags, or similar.

VJ13

Hey guys,

It’s great to see others thinking alike!! I’ve been doing some research over the last few days and I’ve found an excellent site that sells not only re-usable shopping bags, but eco friendly cosmetic bags, newspaper holders and string bags for fruit. They even sell novel reused drink carton bags which means at least some plastic won’t be going to landfill.
The string ones named turtle bags are animal friendly too and the hemp bags (just one of the ranges of materials they sell) are mould and sunlight resistant. How fabulous!

Heres the addresses check it out: http://www.!!!!!!/index.php?cPath=20_26&sort=2a&page=1
http://www.!!!!!!/index.php?cPath=84_112

I’ve just purchased two of them and I’m impressed they even allowed me to do carbon offsetting against my delivery. What type of prices has everyone else been paying, is this competitive?

Also Scorpio princess paper bags are just as hazardous as to the environment as plastic as the co2 given off in makeing/remaking these bags is rather large. They also use our trees that are getting limited by the day, however they do decompose better.