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

Linda32

I re-use them as carrier bags as I oftern go to Aldi and they charge for carrier bags.

graspandsave

Linda32 wrote: »

I re-use them as carrier bags as I oftern go to Aldi and they charge for carrier bags.

me too, some get used to line wastepaper bins around the house too.....and some go to school.
I never chuck them

carlislelass

Fruball wrote: »

I ditched the bin years ago - horrid breeding ground for bacteria. Now I just have a carrier bag hung on a cupboard handle and use that. Each evening the bag goes out to the wheelie bin (in theory!).

we do that too

Seakay

I've got loads of fabric bags now so hardly ever get a plastic bag. When I do I usually save them to give to my local pet shop or one of the charity shops so they don't have to get any in.

fortunefortune

I know this is a thread suggesting uses for plastic bags, but wow - doesn't anyone care about the environment here? A daily plastic bag on your door handle - minimum 365 bags going to landfill every year - and that's just in your house.

Did you know (or care) that there is a gigantic patch of floating plastic rubbish, twice the size of the continental United States, that swirls around itself in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Tiny Fish eat the microscopic bits of plastic, bigger fish eat them, you eat the fish - you are eating it too. Endangered turtles eat plastic bags as they have poor eyesight and the bags look just like their favourite food - jelly fish.

I don't have kids but am trying to do my bit for future generations and everyone can do their bit. NOT USING plastic bags, turning off water when you brush your teeth, not using plastic containers wherever possible and that's just the start. Please stop using plastic bags.

esmf73

Use them to line bins, take with me when I walk the dogs (!) clean out litter trays, keep small toys from a set together, save them for the school Christmas fairs as we always need carriers, take them to car boots when I do them. Only ones with holes in get thrown away.

therealdessie

I keep my compact umbrella in one in my work bag - if I get caught in a light shower I can put the brolly back in my bag once it's over without having to carry it by my side. Wrapped up a few times it stays waterproof until I get somewhere I can open it up to dry.

Always take them on planes too, to keep sweet wrappers and such in. If I buy an airline meal on a short flight there's inevitably a lot of rubbish left over which they aren't always quick to collect.

pigpen

as rubbish bags.. as nappy bags.. as entertainment (put one nin the garden on a windy day it keeps the cats entertained for hours! They chase and pounce and attack them).. PE trainers.. icky muddy things! putting out recycling.. collect in bag and fling

Chipps

Another one here who uses them as bin liners.

I did once crochet one into a coaster for my grandma who was the queen of re-using plastic bags. (She keeps everything in plastic bags, re-using the plastic that magazines etc come in as well. When she went on holiday, all her undies were wrapped in plastic bags inside the suitcase)

I can't understand why my DD buys special little bags for taking with her when walking the dog. Hopefully have convinced her to use carrier bags instead. (she often shops online so gets quite a stash of carrier bags)

I have some lovely artificial flowers in a big ceramic vase in my dining room - but don't look into the vase to see what is holding the huge blooms in place - the vase is filled with M0rrisons carrier bags. Waste not, want not!

At runner bean time, we usually have far too many, so take a trug-ful to church for people to help themselves - always with a selection of re-used carrier bags for people to take them home in. Other people do the same - last week we brought home a bagful of apples from someone's garden. They had provided a stack of beautifully folded carrier bags of varying sizes as well.

When shopping, mostly I use re-usable shopping bags, my favourite is a present from DD - a Radley bag that folds into its own pouch & fits easily in handbag. But every so often I run out of plastic bags to use for other purposes, so conveniently "forget" them at the supermarket!

MellW

I'm not sure where I found it but I recently saw an idea for using carrier bags to make a garden cushion, just fill a bag with lots of others and pop inside a cushion cover!