Morrisons trials 15p plastic bag charge - MSE News

Former_MSE_Naomi

Morrisons is raising the price of a reusable plastic bag from 10p to 15p and introducing a 20p reusable paper bag, as part of an eight-week trial across eight stores...

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'Morrisons trials 15p plastic bag charge'

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KxMx

Paper bags are not a green alternative to plastic by any means.

Other retailers have realised this and not gone ahead themselves.

wavelets

Morrisons scrapped its 5p single-use plastic bags last year, which it says cut bag sales by 25%.
It currently only sells reusable plastic bags, which will increase in price to 15p under the trial.

Just a cynical 50% increase in the cost of a bag for life.
Or a threefold increase in the price of a carrier.

Shoppers are using the thicker bags in the same way they discard thinner single-use bags...
Tesco issued 430 million bags for life in the 12 months to the end of June [2018], it is reported.
Sainsbury's sold 268 million, Morrisons 140 million, Aldi 52 million, Co-op 28 million, Waitrose 22 million, M&S 14 million and Iceland 3.5 million, according to data obtained by charity the Environmental Investigation Agency.

Source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1063859/supermarkets-plastic-bags-for-life-increase-waste-1-18-billion

LadyDee

Once they stop selling their apples, potatoes and the like in plastic I'll believe they really care about the environment. I now go out of my way to trek to my nearest market for fruit and vegetables - yes even potatoes with (shock horror) earth on them!

Paul_Herring

plastic I'll believe they really care about the environment

You think this, nothing but cynical, ploy is about the environment?

DigForVictory

This also takes the eye off the fact its bags for life have gone up from 10 pence to 15 pence.

That's M&S prices for a Morrisons product.

Paul_Herring

Additionally on the 'environmental' (or otherwise)-ness of bags:

https://capx.co/plastic-bags-and-the-problem-with-central-planning/

On how many times each sort of non-single-use-plastic-bag must be used, counting the bad-old-'single'-use as 1:

We can even construct a little spectrum here. How many times do we need to reuse a bag for it to have as little resource use – and thus environmental effect – as just the one use of those thin single use plastic ones? Obviously enough, the single use that we’re told not to use has a value of one here. The bag for life must be reused 35 times. A bag for life from recycled plastic 84 times. A paper bag must be reused 43 times – yes, paper. A cotton bag 7,100 times and an organic cotton? 20,000.

Can a Morrisons' bags for 'life' be used 35 times? Not seen one m'self.

Norman_Castle

Paul_Herring wrote: »

Can a Morrisons' bags for 'life' be used 35 times? Not seen one m'self.

I've got some that have been used hundreds of times. If there is a minimum £1 charge for all bags there would be a massive increase in how many times they are used.
The 15p charge causes lazy indifference.

DigForVictory

Paul_Herring wrote: »

Can a Morrisons' bags for 'life' be used 35 times?

My family will tell you, in various tones of martyred, annoyed, frustrated & generally we're-only-tolerating-this-behaviour-Just, that as far as anyone can tell I've made it into the low twenties with some bags but have so darn many it is very hard to tell.

But then I fold them after each use and (try to) maintain a stash in the car (flip up the back seat & lo three hessian bags each with at least 7 bags for life folded, tucked there)

I think it's the folding that bugs them, as they have to flip the loop handle off & shake them to unfold & they don't do this Before the assistant starts swinging goods across the scanner...

I salute you, Norman Castle & agree that if bags for life were yet more expensive, their reuse rate would jump. Just some families might go hungry learning, while presently it is a nice little help to the day to offer someone a reliable bag.

Battybird

And yet Primark do not charge for their paper bags. They are sturdy and I do reuse them in my house.

If all Morrisons shops start using paperbags I think I will pack my food in Primark bags. (to point out to the Morrisons store that I won't pay 20p for their paper bags!)

Bacman

We all have bags in our home so can easily keep some in the car for shopping trips, and reuse them. Thin ones are easy to put in your pocket if you're going out shopping without intending to buy in case do. Using those flimsy supermarket bags which fall apart even on first use has no excuse or reason. People who will pay for those flimsy bags are lazy so why not increase the price and give them a reason to change their habits?