Green taxes -Plastic bags to be banned ??

IvanOpinion

nelly wrote: »

Has anyone mentioned theres more plastic wrapping on the food items themselves than any plastic carrier bag?

Much of the problem is consumer laziness (often otherwise referred to as 'time saving') ... the consumer wants their 'ready meals', they want their vegetables pre-chopped and apparently it is beyond some childrens intelligence to eat a whole apple or to peel an orange so they need over priced bags were it has been pre-sliced/pre-peeled for them (and lets not go down the route that it is the only way that mummikins & daddikins can get their little darling to eat fruit).

On the other hand I recently bought a new set of cordless phones for the house. Every little piece was wrapped in little polythene bags (about 20 of them) and then packed in a cardboard 'frame' and ultimately into a box that was itself wrapped in polythene. Why?

Why do I need a big blister pack for things e.g. a memory card for a camera? As I mentioned above it has to start with the manufacturers and the retailers who have to stop pandering to laziness. and wasteage.

Ivan

IvanOpinion

Gingham_Ribbon wrote: »

I would object to paying for supermarket parking. It's bad enough that many small towns and villages have lost their local shops and to get food and clothes they have to go out of town, but to make people who are fortunate enough to actually be able to get there pay for the priviledge? No, I don't like that idea.

Very few people do like ideas when they start affecting them instead of just affecting others. Shopping centres have become places 'to go to' for no other reason than to fill in a day or so. That causes many wasted miles and environmental damage.

There are people in my home town struggling because there is nowhere locally to get the things they need any more. They have to go to neighbouring towns or further afield (to Ayr.) A pain for those who drive, a major inconvenience for those who can use public transport, a nightmare for those who can't.

Supermarkets offer free parking because they often own the land whereas in town area councils have a much more difficult choice ... that land could be used for building and revenue generaiton through rent or provide parking to enhance local businesses. It is a very difficult balancing act but councils can not ignore high value revenue generation however I suppose they could add it onto the local council tax and offer free parking but then again I believe in the generality that those that consume a service should pay for that service.

Maybe forcing supermarkets to charge for their parking would help regenerate some of the town centres by offering a slightly more level playing field. If it stops several million 'lets go to the mall to fill in an afternoon' journeys then that is a good thing.

Making people spend more and more money, on carriers, on parking, on refuse collection, on road tax...if's just not the answer. It is continuing to make the poor struggle even more and doing little for the environment. (It's increasing profits for business and generating money for the government though.)

This has nothing to do with "poor" .. it is to do with choice and protecting the environment that we are destroying ... this is to do with and affects everybody. There is a lot of cynicism about but slowly the people of this country (and others) are starting to wake up and realise that it is our generation that has done the damage therefore we need to pay to repair it for the next generation.

Ivan

Gingham_Ribbon

IvanOpinion wrote: »

Very few people do like ideas when they start affecting them instead of just affecting others. I think you misread my post. It doesn't affect me in the SLIGHTEST. Shopping centres have become places 'to go to' for no other reason than to fill in a day or so. That causes many wasted miles and environmental damage. We're talking about supermarkets, not malls. And when there are NO grocers, bakers, butchers locally, people are forced to use them. No-one uses a supermarket recreationally.
Maybe forcing supermarkets to charge for their parking would help regenerate some of the town centres by offering a slightly more level playing field. If it stops several million 'lets go to the mall to fill in an afternoon' journeys then that is a good thing. Again, not about recreational shopping - about life essentials.

This has nothing to do with "poor" .. Then you really do have NO idea what it is like. Yes it IS about that exactly. it is to do with choice and protecting the environment that we are destroying ... this is to do with and affects everybody. There is a lot of cynicism about but slowly the people of this country (and others) are starting to wake up and realise that it is our generation that has done the damage therefore we need to pay to repair it for the next generation. WE need to do something about the environment and I believe I am doing that as best I can. But I object to poor people having to pay more when big business is still churning out over packaged goods that people are paying over the odds for becuase of all the packaging that they don't want.

Ivan

As for children eating ready peeled and sliced fruit? I have never seen such a product and don't know a single child who eats their fruit that way - unless chopped by a parent. What I HAVE seen is working people nipping into Boots and buying ready peeled and chopped assorted fruit salads complete with plastic packaging and plastic spoon/fork for their troubles.

Where are these children? I've seen children being given sausage rolls in their prams, crisps, chocolates etc. I've never seen one being given a sliced apple out of a plastic box. (Unless you count a tupperware one with a pack up inside like I take out.)

gravitytolls

I'm impressed GR. My offspring nosh half cucumbers whilst shopping, which I thought was pretty good (always paid for ~ honest).

And to tie in with the thread ~ they eat it, so I don't need a carrier bag to put them in. HA!

Miss_Money

i dont buy millie snacks when we are out... i take her some fruit in a tupperware box. i slice all the fruit at home stick it all in the box and voilla! fruit salad
i try not to buy overpackaged stuff, but sometimes its unnavoiadable, although i do wish i had the nerve to unwrap the stuff that doesnt need the packaging and leave it at the supermarket!
GR i agree that getting into town has become a mjor expense for most people. If i had a car it would be cheaper to take the car and park in town for the day, with 2 adults and children, rather than get the bus. Its also more conviniant eg more room/no sharing germs etcetc..... but i dont have that choice as i dont have a car the nearest small ton to me is so run down and tacky now that i wouldnt want to shop there anyway. i went last week as an emergancy and remembered why i hate it so much! i can manage a trip to the city fine but they are trying to keep cars out of nottingham now...and yet they keep pushing up the bus fares :rolleyes: to the point where its barely affordable if you are on a low income.

IvanOpinion

Ging&Ivan wrote:

This has nothing to do with "poor" .. Then you really do have NO idea what it is like. Yes it IS about that exactly. it is to do with choice and protecting the environment that we are destroying ... this is to do with and affects everybody. There is a lot of cynicism about but slowly the people of this country (and others) are starting to wake up and realise that it is our generation that has done the damage therefore we need to pay to repair it for the next generation. WE need to do something about the environment and I believe I am doing that as best I can. But I object to poor people having to pay more when big business is still churning out over packaged goods that people are paying over the odds for because of all the packaging that they don't want.

Unless you are trying to tell me that 'poor' people in this country (who are still probably in the top 5-10% of wealth in the wider world) can not be environmentally friendly then I am not quite sure where you are coming from. Care for the environment has nothing to do with wealth it is to do with being responsible and minimising the amount of resource we all use (often that saves money).

In the context of this discussion, charging for carrier bags does not have to affect anybodies wealth .. there is always the option to reuse bags we already have (costs nothing more) or simply pack the groceries into the boot of the car (costs nothing more) or better still carry them home (costs less).

I have already made the point about over packaging so we are singing from the same sheet there but again this has nothing to do with wealth because ultimately we have the choice to buy the pre-packaged or buy non-packaged (but not necessarily in the same shop). Paradoxically it is often the over packaged supermarket stuff that is cheaper than the unpackaged corner shop stuff.

In the context of other charges then parking come under the 'you have a choice' and most people will pay that because they decide that the overall cost of a basket of groceries plus the parking is less than buying more locally. By not charging for parking supermarkets and shopping centres are encouraging wasteage from a bored populous. On taxation for rubbish (which may not happen now due to various issues) I have always fully agreed with the concept because then maybe people will reduce what they use which is good. On road tax again it is a good idea if it reduces the number of 'recreational' miles. Remember all such policies are aimed at making people NOT pay them thereby not only improving the environment but if treated responsibly it should ultimately cost people less (e.g. less taxation due to longer lasting landfill, less petrol and mileage by NOT going recreational shopping etc.)

Ivan

katecheshire

It's very likely that in 2 years there will be no free plastic carrier bags in shops. The number of countries, cities, towns and villages that have banned or are planning to ban plastic bags is inspiring. It's not much trouble to have reusable bags in your car, bag or even pocket - such as a turtle bag or onya bag. Even my partner takes the string bags to tescos! Look up Rebecca Hosking's film - Message in the Waves. You would have to be pretty hard hearted not to be affected by it.

peter999

Here we go, more busybody interference !!

This whole plastic bag thing is just a complete Green con smoke-screen & just an excuse for increasing control & interference in people's lives.

City votes to be plastic bag-free
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/7052424.stm

"The council voted overwhelmingly to be a plastic bag-free city
Councillors in Brighton and Hove have voted to make the city a plastic bag-free zone by asking shops to stop handing them out to customers.

"We would like to see every retailer ceasing to use plastic bags, and shoppers buying reusable cotton bags," said councillor Gill Mitchell.

The council is also going to write to the government asking it to impose a 20p levy on every plastic bag used."

Next, it will be Light Bulbs.
Then next it will be This & then next it will be That.

peter999

IvanOpinion

peter999 wrote: »

Then next it will be This & then next it will be That.

:eek: :eek: :eek: Are you saying they are going to put a levy on Take That

Ivan

peter999

IvanOpinion wrote: »

:eek: :eek: :eek: Are you saying they are going to put a levy on Take That

Ivan

Probably, if they can get away with it.

You have the mindset to be a Councillor.

peter999