Spill the beans... on uses for old plastic carrier bags

41_and_i_know_it

bundance wrote: »

I would like to know what the welsh wrap their sloppy non compostable rubbish in, now carrier bags are not used there please?

There is not a lot of non-compostable rubbish left, my food waste goes in the council compostable bin liner in the food waste plastic box bin. I have to admit that it is a problem with raw meat and bones which I have to wrap before putting in the bin, I don't have a composter, I don't really have access to a garden. We still have carrier bags but have to pay 5p for one so I don't bother, got my dads shopping trolley, sometimes take a rigid cool box with ice packs shopping, obviously reusable strong bags, or carrying in my arms is a good form of exercise. Here's a great tip, the council garden waste bags made of very strong material are magic for shopping they are big and easy to carry. Diolch yn fawr for your:beer: post.

41_and_i_know_it

We have green sack and pink sack collections on alternate fortnights. Whenever I put the card, paper, grass, foil, glass out on the Wednesday, there is already 2 pink sacks which I have full which I have to wait till following week for them to collect. I do squash things down, I don't overfill bags to injure binmen, whatever I do I have a kitchen or path outside front door full of sacks.

ZsaZsa

bluebag wrote: »

Sadly bin bags are heavier so take more fuel to transport and are usually single use. They also have up to 70 per cent more plastic in and so are less degradable.

I suppose there is no easy answer, less waste all round maybe?

I think a lot of the problem is we tend to shop in 'big batches' whereas in the old times shopping was done, mainly daily, in smaller and more manageable quantities.

Everyone seemed to burn all the rubbish on the coal fire too.

I compost and recycle as much as I can, but for everything else what should I do- start buying carrier bags?? Not sure that would make much difference:think:

bundance

41_and_i_know_it wrote: »

There is not a lot of non-compostable rubbish left, my food waste goes in the council compostable bin liner in the food waste plastic box bin. I have to admit that it is a problem with raw meat and bones which I have to wrap before putting in the bin, I don't have a composter, I don't really have access to a garden. We still have carrier bags but have to pay 5p for one so I don't bother, got my dads shopping trolley, sometimes take a rigid cool box with ice packs shopping, obviously reusable strong bags, or carrying in my arms is a good form of exercise. Here's a great tip, the council garden waste bags made of very strong material are magic for shopping they are big and easy to carry. Diolch yn fawr for your:beer: post.

Thanks for your post.
That's my problem. I don't have anywhere for scrap meat waste to go.
No carrier bags mean a smelly flat for me as the bins only get collected every fortnight.

Edny

I used to reuse the bags from the supermarket as bin liners, these were semi biodegradable.
Since being charged for them I buy the cheapest plastic bags I can find instead.
A step backwards in being green but pennies count more when your hard up.

colinthecockrel

First of all I don't live in Wales, but thought I'd let you know what I do with all our rubbish:
When we had a new kitchen fitted a few years ago the bin arrangement was one of my priorities! We managed to find a set of 3 metal bins - one large (size of a household bucket) and 2 small (together, the size of a household bucket). The large one is used for all recycling - when full it is emptied into our green wheelie bin supplied by the council - no bags needed for this.
One of the small bins is used only for compostible waste - lined with a sheet of newspaper - when full, gets tipped into the compost bin outside.
The other small bin is for general waste which cannot be composted or recycled. We do not line this bin. It gets emptied every couple of days into the black biodegradable bin bag supplied by the council, given a quick wipe around with a cloth and spray of kitchen cleaner and is good to go again. If we have meat/fish waste, I try to re-use the packing the product came in in the first place to wrap it and put straight outside into the black bag. If I can't do this, then I'll use a bag which I have saved from something else, ie, bag of potatoes/bananas, etc, to wrap the waste in and put in the black bag.
On the carrier bag front, I try my hardest not to use them. I have 6 cloth/fabric bags which I take into town if I'm charity shop hunting/clothes shopping, etc, and always use these. As for grocery shopping I have 5 of the heavy duty SM reuseable bags stacked inside each other and get very cross with myself if I forget them!!

Mind you, this morning our village was flooded and I had to send the kids to school with spare uniform and school shoes in a carrier bag - took me a while to find 2 bags, so it's not always good not having them in the house!

Right, you can wake up now, sorry if I've bored you!

Caroline-Encore

Edny wrote: »

I used to reuse the bags from the supermarket as bin liners, these were semi biodegradable.
Since being charged for them I buy the cheapest plastic bags I can find instead.
A step backwards in being green but pennies count more when your hard up.

Why don't you use the endless supply of charity bags that get posted through most people's doors?

cheeswright

once they have been used enough to be too holey to be a bag anymore you can do this with them
http://luckyladybirdcraft.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/over-past-few-weeks-me-and-my-friend.html
I have been considering it as a way to make up colourful garden planters
as the pottery ones always crack over winter
and if they're too leaky
I can always shove a couple of .......plastic bags inside too....:rotfl:

donnysan

I have some canvas bags that I usually use when i go grocery shopping. I still forget to use them from time to time, so I end up using those awful, non-biodegradable plastic shopping bags. To redeem myself for accumulating these environmentally unfriendly bags, I frequently put them to reuse. Here are 10 nifty ways to repurpose those pesky plastic bags.

1. Plastic shopping bags make great great liners for small trash cans. I frequently use them for that purpose. One bag will often do the job for a very long time. For rapid replacement, keep extras in the bottom.

2. They make good lunch bags as well. Plastic grocery bags work well for packing a small lunch for work.

3. Plastic carrier bags also work well as packing material. Try using them instead of those messy white foam peanuts.

4. If you have cookbooks, these plastic bags come in very handy. Many, many times, I've spilled liquid or stained pages of cookbooks while cooking. I finally figured out how handy these bags are for using as cook book covers. They'll save your cook books from those nasty food stains and from spillage.

5. Here's a really sneaky one. I've never tried it myself but it might actually work. Plastic bags can potentially be used to avoid having to put money in a parking meter. Put a bag over the parking meter. Then, tie the handles of the bag around the meter. Next, take a marker and write 'out of order' in big, bold letters on the bag. This would probably work best on bags that are of a solid color.

6. If you've ever unable to get a debit or credit card to swipe, a plastic bag is just the thing you need. If you put a card with a magnetic strip inside a plastic bag, and then swipe the troublesome card, it will frequently fix cause an otherwise unswipable card to swipe. I don't know why it works, but I've seen it done many times before. It really works! Bank of America debit cards are notorious for not swiping, and, sometimes, the plastic bag method is the only thing that will get them to swipe.

7. Need rubber gloves and don't have any handy? No worries. Plastic bags can sometimes be used as makeshift rubber gloves.

8. If you're traveling and forgot to bring a laundry bag, plastic bags are just what you need. They can be very handy for doubling as laundry bags for the unprepared traveler.

9. If you have cats, plastic shopping bags can make a very handy litter box liner. It can me a much better alternative than paying for litter box liners.

10. If you have a broken arm or leg, plastic bags can be very useful for keeping your cast dry while bathing or showering.

These are just a few suggested uses for plastic carrier bags. There are many, many other ways that plastic carrier bags can be repurposed.

BethP

I buy "bag for life" bags and ask for them to be replaced when they are worn out.

When entering Tesco there is a huge wire cage where customers are invited to put their unwanted plastic carrier bags. I take a handful out of there and use them to line the kitchen bin. To me this is the ultimate in recycling:j

I think we should do the same as Wales, China and North America where plastic bags do not exist! Instead, you get strong paper bags with handles that do the same job. (Sort of takes me back to my teen years in the 70`s when we bought pretty patterned paper carrier bags!:j

Plastic carrier bags ought to be charged for. Better still, get rid of them:o.

The other thing I do with quality carrier bags from stores such as John Lewis, is to fold them carefully and pop about ten of them into another bag and then they go into the next charity bag collection envelope that arrives (we seem to receive several each week!) Then the charity can use them for customer purchases or maybe for sorting donations:j

They also make good shoe bags for holidays (and for holiday laundry).;)