5p bag charge - your views

Yolina

JP08 wrote: »

It's strange. Bought a pair of trousers in the other weekend. £40. So why did I really resent paying the 5p for the bag? 0.1% of the purchase price for crying out loud.

I wouldn't mind so much if they were plain bags. However since they're all still branded, I will not pay If they want me to advertise their shop, they can get the strong paper bags which escape the compulsory charge.

[Deleted User]

organic_wanabe wrote: »

I live in Scotland and so am used to the charge now and have never paid it as I always make sure I carry bags with me. However, when it was first introduced here I imagined it would only be for supermarket shopping and not for clothes. Silly me! I was in Debenhams the other day and the lady in front bought a large expensive coat and asked for a bag. The assistant said that she would have to put it in one of the large bags and that would cost more. I had imagined the charge was 5p no matter the size.

5p is the minimum charge they are legally obliged to charge but nothing stopping a retailer charging more for bigger/stronger bags if they so wish.

But what p***es me off is huge retailers like Debenhams coming up with random bag charges like what you are described. When in the past they wouldn't have charged extra for the bigger bag in the first place, especially when you are spending lots of money.

System

Yolina wrote: »

I wouldn't mind so much if they were plain bags. However since they're all still branded, I will not pay If they want me to advertise their shop, they can get the strong paper bags which escape the compulsory charge.

I don't see a problem with that. You either pay for a bag or supply your own. No skin off their nose.

catwoman73

I'm glad they charge for clothes shop bags too. For years I have been smugly reusing supermarket carrier bags for food shopping and judging those who got new bags every time and didn't reuse them.

However, I always took the free bags when clothes shopping and almost never reused them - usually size or shape made it not useful as a bin bag or the paper ones got wet and became useless so simply threw almost all of them in the recycling bin - and now I learn that the posh paper ones couldn't even be recycled. I buy quite a lot of things in Gap and even though I hated their stupid string handled bags, I still took clothes away in them.

The charge has changed my behaviour and I now keep a fold up cloth bag for non food shopping - it shouln't get grubby as fast as if I used it for food but it is machine washable and in the future I will waste far fewer bags.

Katanoosh

Hi,
I hope someone can help me. Does 5p bag charge applies to wholesalers?
What I mean is as small company/business we purchase materials from national wholeaslers. They have lots of branches around UK, employ more than 250 people but are not classified as retailers. Some of them started charging 5p for a bag, others say it does not apply to them.
Who is right? Is there a difference in the law if you are retailer or wholesaler?

Nick_C

The English legislation doesn't refer to Retailers or Wholesalers - it refers to "Sellers". "A seller means a person who sells goods and employs 250 or more employees on the first day of a reporting year."

Smidster

JP08 wrote: »

It's strange. Bought a pair of trousers in the other weekend. £40. So why did I really resent paying the 5p for the bag? 0.1% of the purchase price for crying out loud.

As others have said it is because they were free before and so our reference price is zero.

NPR did a "Planet Money" on the issue in relation to the American Red Cross and giving out free doughnuts during WWII.

http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/08/02/187373801/episode-386-the-cost-of-free-doughnuts

Shows the power of "free" that it the doughnuts still resonate today.

spiritus

I think it's wrong on many levels.


1/ The retailer can choose to do what they want with the 5p's they receive. It doesn't have to go to good causes or for any environmental donations.


2/ Following on from the same theme.....why can't the retailer foot the charge and then be obliged by law to donate it to good causes ? The money could go to funding the production of more sustainable bags i.e. made from paper


3/ It can leave a bitter taste for the customer, something retailers should try and avoid e.g. the other week I bought a pair of shoes for £ 95 and was obviously asked if I wanted a bag so I was charged £ 95.05.


Now if you're spending that kind of money it seems a little daft to be charged an extra 5p on top


It's not about the 5p as we can all afford it but I think it's a daft law

jon81uk

spiritus wrote: »

I think it's wrong on many levels.


1/ The retailer can choose to do what they want with the 5p's they receive. It doesn't have to go to good causes or for any environmental donations.


2/ Following on from the same theme.....why can't the retailer foot the charge and then be obliged by law to donate it to good causes ? The money could go to funding the production of more sustainable bags i.e. made from paper


3/ It can leave a bitter taste for the customer, something retailers should try and avoid e.g. the other week I bought a pair of shoes for £ 95 and was obviously asked if I wanted a bag so I was charged £ 95.05.


Now if you're spending that kind of money it seems a little daft to be charged an extra 5p on top


It's not about the 5p as we can all afford it but I think it's a daft law

But the law works, I've seen far far more people (myself included) bring their own or use less bags (so you get a bag at clothes shop 1 but not shop 2 as all items fit in one bag). I would say that most retailers are giving profit from the 5p to charity, but that is after the cost of making the bag and the VAT.

Zinger549

LABMAN wrote: »

You could use the bin without liners as we do. Bin is washed out using washing up water after we've done the dishes.

How do the bin men collect it if it's not in a bag?