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5p bag scam

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I've come to the conclusion that the 5p bags were invented behind closed doors meetings of greedy supermarket bosses trying to find a way to prevent people from shopping around.

Of course if you have to pay 5p for bags you will buy the bag for lifes which works out cheaper. But who really wants to repeat that at every supermarket?
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Comments

  • mije1983
    mije1983 Posts: 3,665 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker Name Dropper
    I haven't bought a bag since the 5p charge came in (although to be fair I rarely used single use bags before the charge anyway). I use generic bags for life and I've shopped at 4 different supermarkets in that time. I don't understand how it stops people shopping around?

    You don't have to 'repeat' it in every supermarket. There is nothing stopping you using a Tesco bag in Asda for example.
  • lovinituk
    lovinituk Posts: 5,711 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Er...no! Do you really not know the reason why there is a charge?
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,323 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I personally am glad for this change. I can not begin to imagine how much its reduced the amount of plastic turning up in our dumps. Its a small charge but makes us all think a bit more carefully about how we use the bags.
  • ARandomMiser
    ARandomMiser Posts: 1,756 Forumite
    Plastic bag charges was a great, long overdue introduction and has been a real success and cut out wastage. The good lady has actually acquired several reasonably strong bags that cost about £1 in the discount stores.

    Our obscure little bit of silly fun is to never use the correct bag-for-life in the supermarket we are in.
    IITYYHTBMAD
  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    You can shop at Ocado online every few months and sell your used bags back to the supermarket for 5p each. You can hand back up to 99 bags. Therefore the bags are free. If you shop at Ocado on a very irregular basis you will undoubtedly be offered a discount code in your email offsetting the slightly higher prices and delivery charges that Ocado makes.

    http://www.ocadogroup.com/news-and-media/news-centre/2015/20150930_bag_recycle_bonus.aspx

    So whilst I was initially against charging 5p for plastic bags I am now quite satisfied that my bags are now being recycled free of charge to myself.

    If you want to make a profit from this then just wander about the streets picking up bags that have been thrown and hand them in to get 5p. If your town is anything like my town it will take you about an hour to collect 99 bags. If you pick up bags whilst doing other tasks it's basically free money.
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,323 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I hadn't heard of that. Unfortunately we don't have an Ocado and I rarely see bags lying around. I must live in a very mean or green town lol.
  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I hadn't heard of that. Unfortunately we don't have an Ocado and I rarely see bags lying around. I must live in a very mean or green town lol.

    Neither do I. It's an online supermarket. £40 minimum delivery.
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • System
    System Posts: 178,351 Community Admin
    10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I work in retail.

    There are some customers that never had their own bags before and after the bag charge. Been in supermarkets where the customer in front of me ask for bags as left them in the car. Why can't they take the trolley to the car and pack there?

    If bags were £5 each, some will continue not to bother to have their own bags.

    The only 5p bag I have bought was from Lakeland. It's stronger than supermarkets bags for life
    This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com
  • The-Truth
    The-Truth Posts: 483 Forumite
    Sara19 wrote: »
    I've come to the conclusion that the 5p bags were invented behind closed doors meetings of greedy supermarket bosses trying to find a way to prevent people from shopping around.

    Of course if you have to pay 5p for bags you will buy the bag for lifes which works out cheaper. But who really wants to repeat that at every supermarket?

    You're a pretty good definition of deluded!

    Everyone else apart from you it seems knows why the 5p charge came into force.

    This is also a classic example of the vast majority of the people who use the word 'scam' very often have no idea what they're talking about!
  • pendragon_arther
    pendragon_arther Posts: 1,304 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Sea life was greatly suffering, turtles for example thinking plastic bags were jellyfish and dying. But hopefully things will change now in the reduction of these bags.
    “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can never live long enough to make them all yourself.”
    ― Groucho Marx
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