5p bag charge - your views

marbella

I was behind a very abusive customer who was very rude to the customer assistant on the till about charging 5p. Do these ignorant people not realise that the shop workers have not gone home one night and just decided to change the 'country' policy on plastic bag charges. Please get a grip and forward any complaints to the government and not shop workers.

Miroslav

ScarletMarble wrote: »

Noticed several customers today weren't aware about the bag charges.

Where have they been for the past two and a half months??

I work in retail and often get "I thought it was only supermarkets?".

Not had an abusive customer yet, a few disgruntled ones but not abusive.

Some of my colleagues have had some unhappy customers including "It's my human right to have a free bag" but 99% of customers are either content to pay 5p or suddenly realise they have room in one they already have. You even get customers who say they agree with the 5p charge.

HornetSaver

DUKE wrote: »

I bought my first 5p bag on Christmas Eve, but it was worth it as I dodged the massive queues & paid for meat in the clothes department at Tesco. I'd got my own bag from Macmillan http://shop.macmillan.org.uk/macmillan-essentials.html but didn't want it contaminated.

Couldn't you have gotten it free for meat?

(I'd gladly pay 5p to avoid a queue, just curious)

Just look how Germany is run.. no messing about.

That has its pros and its cons.

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

I've heard some horror stories about people with fortnightly collections whose councils will refuse to collect for any reason they can. Would be a bit more understandable if it was weekly collection and fussy.


For me the bag charge is a good thing apart from the lack of incentives to bring your own bags. Would personally prefer that 1p of the money was tax from 5 April 2017. Partly because I'm strongly in favour of taxing behaviour you want less of and using that money for emergency spending such as the floods. Partly because I want supermarkets to trumpet how much they've raised for charity, and then need to make a conscious effort to keep that figure rising.

Lanzarote1938

Why don't clothes shops like M&S etc do like Primark and give strong paper carriers, no charge. I do object to having new underwear or any other clothing for that matter not protected. When I am expected to robble my expensive purchases into any dirty old bag I have handy it takes some of the pleasure out of shopping.

Lush offered a paper carrier bag for 1 small piece of soap, no charge.

I don't mind taking my own bags for groceries and have done so for years.

Big_Graeme

Lanzarote1938 wrote: »

Why don't clothes shops like M&S etc do like Primark and give strong paper carriers, no charge.

Only in England would there be no charge, I expect M&S don't think it worth the hassle. Primark have to charge outside of England.

Lanzarote1938 wrote: »

I do object to having new underwear or any other clothing for that matter not protected.

Buy a bag then.

Lanzarote1938 wrote: »

When I am expected to robble my expensive purchases into any dirty old bag I have handy it takes some of the pleasure out of shopping.

You are not expected to do anything, you have the choice, provide a clean bag, purchase a bag or go without.

savingpennies

I always used to recycle my carrier bags: storage bags for winter boots, bin liners at home or poop scoop bags when walking the dog. Now I have to buy bags for these tasks - so in my case it hasn't reduced my use of plastic bags just cost me money.

DigForVictory

Would some knowledgeable & kindly Welsh [or similarly more advanced culture] soul share what they use for getting rubbish into the bin?

As the bin bags we have are either the big black things (suboptimal for toting around the house) or the (again handle free) things sold as binliners? If a child empties, um, "sticky rubbish" [to pick a euphemism at random] into a Bag For Life I get a bit irate & for more goodwill peace on earth etc to stand a chance, I need to find something to chuck rubbish in that doesn't cause a ruckus.

Please advise!?

System

savingpennies wrote: »

I always used to recycle my carrier bags: storage bags for winter boots, bin liners at home or poop scoop bags when walking the dog. Now I have to buy bags for these tasks - so in my case it hasn't reduced my use of plastic bags just cost me money.

Same here. Its just added to the expense. i go and buy an item of clothing. Do i want to put it in a bag thats had groceries in? No! So i buy a bag to save the embarrassment of carrying it out of the store on my arm.... looking like a shop lifter.

no1catman

As requested by - DigForVictory - I'm a Welshman. Firstly I'm amazed at the amount of posts on this topic. Why haven't you got used to it by now!?
Ok there may be minor differences between the system as it applies in England as opposed to elsewhere, but it is essentially the same.


Yes, previously, to utilise the mounting pile of free supermarket bags, they would be used for rubbish. Now, we recycle a lot more than we used to - regularly put out three green bags per week, whereas there maybe only a couple of part filled black bin bags every two-weeks.


Whenever I do a 'big shop' I take five or six heavy-duty bags with me. If I'm going to the City Centre, I'll stuff a couple of multi-use bags in a pocket (usually fold easily). All bags are stored safely away, to be available when needed.


I'm puzzled too - why wouldn't you use a multi-use supermarket bag for say M & S clothes? I can't think of anything neat that would go in one that would leave a long lasting smell - 'cept maybe fish n'chips!!
But if you can afford to buys clothes in a Department store, what's the big deal for the odd 10p for the bag!? Besides, you can show off - using one of ***'s bags.


It surprising how quick you can get used to it, cursing yourself, at the till after an unexpected shopping visit - but it's an incentive to always have a bag available in your car/jacket pocket.

Nick_C

HornetSaver wrote: »

Would personally prefer that 1p of the money was tax from 5 April 2017.

Almost a penny (0.83p) of the 5p charge is tax - VAT. Except in Northern Ireland where the entire 5p is tax and is ring fenced for environmental spending.