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

cat_g_83

My mum makes them into new things. My kindle case is made from 3 carrier bags fused together, by ironing under greaseproof paper, with fab colour combinations. The new sheet of material from the bags is them padded with old cushion filling and sewn into an envelope to keep my kindle safe and stylish!

joehoover

I must agree with the poster who brings up the environment, they are not biodegradable so they are wrecking havoc in the environment, this is why companies are starting to charge for them, and many countries have made it mandatory to charge.

But still I see people in some shops happy to pay for a handful of them instead of just buying one large reusable bag, so if we want to save money just get some of those and take them to the shops.

We may think it isn't our problem but it is not just future generations, we are dumping waste onto less developed countries now.

Of course you want to save on bin liners but look at recycling more. My bin is only used for cat litter as I haven't found an alternative to get rid of that yet. Check your council website and check you have all the things you need to recycle. All my food waste (that can't be eaten of course) goes in the caddy. All packaging is recycled, if they don't pick it up on the street, there are bins round the corner that take everything, clothes included, broken small electricals. And your local recycling centre has many more facilities for things you can't sell and non recylcable waste, and an area where you can drop and swop stuff that is usefull still that you may not want but someone else does.

Obviously this is only advice to people using them as bin liners!

Barryfan

I use mine to line indoor rubbish bins and then empty the indoor rubbish bins into the main dustbin (keeping the plastic bag in the indoor bin!) I agree that using just a plastic bag for your everyday rubbish is awful - so many plastic bags to go to landfill! I also put any extra ones into our local council recycling bins. I don't use them for shopipng cos I've got the fabric bags for weekly shopping. I think more shops should charge for plastic bags and people would soon stop using them.

threemuttleys

I rarely take them. I am one of those annoying people with reusable bags and or a buggy!

The_thrusting_piston

I cut the bright orange sainsbury's carrier bag into strips and tie around mooring pins when mooring a canal narrowboat so that they are quite visible to anyone using the towpath. Hopefully no accidental tripping.

mrsdanvers63

My local council doesn't provide wheelie bins just 1( yes, ONE) black plastic bag per household- per week, so I use supermarket bags to try to keep the smells and leaks down. Last week the bag was left - probably because I had been working away and the contents of the bag had decomposed and there was some leakage despite double bagging.
I compost, recycle, upcycle, give to charity shops as much as I can, but would you believe it the local authority recycling collection requests that you put cans in a bag and glass in another bag?
East Cambs District Council your waste management policies are a disgrace and contribute unnecessarily to landfill.:mad:

AliBaliBee_2

I use a few plastic bags tied together and wrap them round and round my outside tap in the winter to insulate it. It looks like the size of a football but Ive never yet had a burst pipe and the bags were free, unlike a fancy cover would be.

I dont like discarding things that have to go to landfill but think that the bag manufacturers should be the ones to consider ways of making them more biodegradable and then it would be better for all of us who use them as bins or binliners.

Wish my local council let me put bags in the recycling container but they dont. Along with a lot of other things I think should be recycled...!

PS How many times have I turned up at the checkout and cursed my stupidity for forgetting my many paid for bags which are sitting unused in the car boot/kitchen cupboard.....!! And then I have to buy more to take my purchases home in and 'not use' again the following week.

pollypenny

I save clear bags to use when packing for holidays, especially touring. Each clear bag has one type of garment, eg tops, shorts, undies etc etc. it's so easy to find things, by moving a bag or two, instead of rummaging.

They work like drawers.

Living in Wales, I have to maintain my existing stock. Always have a cloth bag now.

djembe_caz

You have to look at both ends of a bag's lifecycle. One plastic 'bag for life' takes as much energy as 28 single use ones to make. A canvas bag would need to be used at least 131 times to offset the carbon footprint of making it.

So make sure you do actually reuse a reusable bag.

I take carrier bags back to the supermarket for recycling rather than use as bin bags because ultimately it would still go to landfill.

http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2028024/plastic-bag-analysis-confirms-bags-life-carbon-savings

rensters

My son plays a lot of football so I regularly find myself on a freezing cold muddy field in the dead of winter.

I wear wellies because it's so muddy, but they can be very cold, so I line each one with a carrier bag to insulate them!

It does work, but I find I still need my hiking socks too on the really cold days!

All my friends do it, and we all agree, it's much cheaper than buying those expensive welly socks!