5p bag charge - your views

anamenottaken

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. However, they could always have charged for a bag if they had wanted and can charge more than 5p if they want now.


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 The retailer used to foot the cost of course and may still be paying more than 5p if they are really good bags. It was a nice idea that the cost be given to environmental projects or charities but that was probably to sweeten the pill of having to change.


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. When this was debated in the House of Commons one MP who also had a family-owned a department store said how he would find it hard to have to ask for an additional 5p when someone had spent a large sum like that. Because it applies everywhere I don't think it will "leave a bitter taste" and, if you can afford to spend £95 on a pair of shoes, I would have hoped that £95.05 would not really worry you.


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 if instead you were given a discount of 5p on the shoe purchase, would you then still feel aggrieved that you had to pay£94.95 plus 5p for the bag.

teddysmum

Zinger549 wrote: »

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

Wheelie bins are wheeled to the wagon, which lifts the bin with an electric hoist and empties the contents into itself, then returns the bin for the man to return to your premises.


Have you never seen this ?

anamenottaken

Nick_C wrote: »

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."

I think the trigger is 250 full-time equivalents - eg could employ 200 35-hour full-timers and 150 10-hour part-time staff and still not be required to charge even though they have 400 employees.

Zinger549

teddysmum wrote: »

Wheelie bins are wheeled to the wagon, which lifts the bin with an electric hoist and empties the contents into itself, then returns the bin for the man to return to your premises.


Have you never seen this ?

Yes but it has always been in bags. I just assumed that food waste would need to be in bags.

Nick_C

anamenottaken wrote: »

I think the trigger is 250 full-time equivalents - eg could employ 200 35-hour full-timers and 150 10-hour part-time staff and still not be required to charge even though they have 400 employees.

Indeed. But I was answering the question "does this apply to wholesalers" and providing a direct quote from the legislation. I didn't see a question about how 250 is calculated or attempt to explain it. If you want to understand the legislation fully, you must of course read it in its entirety and consider the relationships between the different parts.

System

teddysmum wrote: »

Wheelie bins are wheeled to the wagon, which lifts the bin with an electric hoist and empties the contents into itself, then returns the bin for the man to return to your premises.


Have you never seen this ?

Some councils insist the rubbish is placed in bags before it goes in the bin. Esp if your bins are emptied fortnightly.

System

People in Scotland, NI and Wales may know the answer to this.

Every Christmas, we order our turkey and other bits from either Asda, Sainsburys or M&S. My parents' credit card gives them vouchers for these for spending on their credit card (like cashback) before anyone moans about its not MSE.

On collection of the turkey etc, its handed to us in a large strong bag which my mum uses to throw all the packaging and the black bin bag, cut down the seam she has on the kitchen worktop to stop the juices etc going everywhere when she is preparing it for the oven. Then uses the bag to throw the packing and black sack straight into the outside bin.

Are supermarkets including these bags still? Not everything in the Christmas food ordering is raw meat. For example, they have posh puddings as an alternative to Christmas pudding if some of the diners don't like Xmas pud.

Big_Graeme

People in Scotland and Wales pay for every bag regardless of its use, only England has the half baked loop holes. Only unwrapped food items like loose veg get free bags.

absolutereturn

MSE_Helen wrote: »

1. What are your views on the charge? Is it good/bad/don't care - and why?

Presumably the idea is to reduce the amount of non-biodegradable plastic that goes into landfills, etc. which is OK in principle, however, in reality it's rather pointless since almost everything comes packaged in plastic anyway, and most of the packaging is much thicker than your average plastic bag. Soft drinks, toiletries, cleaning products, fresh meat/poultry/fish, fresh produce, confectionery, snacks... even stuff that comes in cardboard boxes often has a plastic bag inside.

MSE_Helen wrote: »

2. And do you have any MoneySaving tips for getting around the fee?

1. Always carry a plastic bag or two (or one of the stronger fabric ones) just in case (easier for us ladies who use handbags but then we also do most of the shopping).
2. If you're only picking a handful of items and forgot the bag(s), grab a few of the little ones intended for fruit.
3. Always go shopping by car so you can just put all your stuff loose in your trolley and take it to your car.
4. Buy from the small local shops. You may not save a lot but you'll be supporting small businesses.:A

PennyForThem_2

Big_Graeme wrote: »

People in Scotland and Wales pay for every bag regardless of its use, only England has the half baked loop holes. Only unwrapped food items like loose veg get free bags.

No - not in Wales. I buy raw fish and get a bag for free