5p bag charge - your views

saltireblue

We've built up a sizeable collection of reusable bags over the past few years. Here's what I've learned:

• I object to paying 5p for a bag that I'll never use again.
• I've bought lots of reusable bags rather than buy the 5p ones
• Once I've unpacked the shopping I forget to put the bags back in the car
• I then buy more reusable bags rather than pay 5p
• the flat is now half-full of reusable bags

We also get home deliveries from Tesco. We ask for bags with the delivery rather than the delivery man tramping through to the kitchen with crates. Tesco will recycle the bags if we give them back to the driver on the next delivery. He/we often forget to do this. Our flat is now also half-full of 5p bags!

We now have more bags than we know what do do with and no doubt will have more the next time we forget to take bags when we go shopping!

Nick_C

dlusman wrote: »

yes , and yes no problem.

Also why does it have to be hessian ? Take a few cotton ones that easily roll up into a small ball. ( and are also easily washable if they get dirty )

Seems to me that everyone objecting to this charge are just "being difficult" for the sake of it , and inventing problems where non exist

I have used the cotton bags, which are fine for a few lightweight items, but the ones I have don't hold much and would wear out quickly if I subjected them to the kind of use my bags for life get.

The hessian bags are fine if you driving to the supermarket (not very environmentally friendly) or possibly if you have an enormous handbag or rucksack. If you are popping into the supermarket on the way home from work, a thin "longer life" plastic bag can be carried in your trouser pocket. A hessian one (or a heavy duty plastic one) will not.

dlusman

Nick_C wrote: »

I have used the cotton bags, which are fine for a few lightweight items, but the ones I have don't hold much and would wear out quickly if I subjected them to the kind of use my bags for life get.

You must have different ones to mine. Been using the same cotton ones for years , and can carry quite heavy loads very easily

System

I had a cotton bag before. I didn't screw the lid back on my bottle of Coke Zero properly. It leaked in my bag.

Washed it at 30c and it shrunk by a third.

Was this normal?

Pincher

John Lewis was giving away tote bags, last year.

I think I got a coupon in the post, and there was a choice between the tote bag and something else.

By the way, new coupon for free cake and coffee just turned up.



Suggestion to Waitrose:

Get a free Waitrose branded Bag for Life for £20+ spend.

Scan MyWaitrose card to get

Free cappuccino for £2.15
Free newspaper for ~£1.50
Free Bag for Life for 40p

So spend £15.95 = £20 - £2.15 - £1.50 - 40p

Pay with Contactless TSB card, to get 5% cashback, 80p.

So spend ~£15.15 , and get a Bag for Life.

dlusman

ScarletMarble wrote: »

I had a cotton bag before. I didn't screw the lid back on my bottle of Coke Zero properly. It leaked in my bag.

Washed it at 30c and it shrunk by a third.

Was this normal?

not in my experience

no1catman

It seems a lot of people have quickly forgot the video of the whale who attracted the attention of people in a fishing boat, he went up close and they were able to take off the plastic shopping carrier bag wrapped around its teeth!


Whales and dolphins, have great problems with these carrier bags - floating on the sea they look like jelly fish, but can not be digested.

KxMx

Nick_C wrote: »

It says men don't carry handbags. Perhaps you hadn't noticed this before?

Men do in my experience have copious pocket capacity compared to ladies though

jamesd

Norman_Castle wrote: »

You can keep your free bags if you can find a better way of reducing this.

Quantity of bags given away in England has been around 8 billion a year. Assuming that the reduction is to 21% as in Wales that means £116 million in bag charges. Cost of cleanup is currently put at around £10 million a year. The VAT cost on the bags alone appears likely to be twice the annual cleanup cost.

Personally I'll increase my bag use by starting to ask for them with home delivery. It'll take around 80 bags per delivery at a cost of 40p for them all. Cheap as protest votes go.

JuzaMum

jamesd wrote: »

Personally I'll increase my bag use by starting to ask for them with home delivery. It'll take around 80 bags per delivery at a cost of 40p for them all. Cheap as protest votes go.

That will teach all that annoying wildlife a lesson!