The War against plastic waste

DigForVictory

Anyone seen or tried the Lidl fruit & veg bags?

As I'm thinking they might be useful but also that they might be shockingly overpriced at 69p for a pack of two.

Still, as a well-intentioned Christmas present, would it be an acceptable idea or are the number of reuses needed to make them eco friendly in the thousands?

dreaming

DigForVictory wrote: »

Anyone seen or tried the Lidl fruit & veg bags?

As I'm thinking they might be useful but also that they might be shockingly overpriced at 69p for a pack of two.

Still, as a well-intentioned Christmas present, would it be an acceptable idea or are the number of reuses needed to make them eco friendly in the thousands?

Can't tell what they are actually made from - it looks like a man-made fabric to me. It may be a step in the right direction though although it does, of course, rely on people remembering to take them with them when shopping. I always have bags in the car boot (the hessian ones) and a bag for life (several years old) in each of my handbags. I actually only have 2 handbags so it isn't difficult to do, but many of my friends seem to go shopping on the spur of the moment and don't always have bags with them so end up buying more. It's difficult to change some people's mindsets but if we all (manufacturers/retailers/consumers) try to do a little bit it can add to up something greater.
I'm planning on making some more bags come Autumn from the stash of cotton fabrics I have from quiltmaking. I thought if I do a variety of sizes they will be good for the Autumn/Xmas fayres.

DigForVictory

Got a couple of the Lidl bags.

100% polyester. 30 cm (12" near enough) by 35 cm (so a little over a foot). Labels say can withstand up to 8 kilos, wash at 30 & has another barcode tag stitched on so you can splodge a printout barcode on it at two places. Seems nice and straightforward, if they do put me in mind of an overgrown wedding favour bag.

The cardboard label says "widely recycled" but that may refer to the cardboard.

As you say, the interesting bit will be figuring how to remember to take them!

dreaming

DigForVictory wrote: »

Got a couple of the Lidl bags.

100% polyester. 30 cm (12" near enough) by 35 cm (so a little over a foot). Labels say can withstand up to 8 kilos, wash at 30 & has another barcode tag stitched on so you can splodge a printout barcode on it at two places. Seems nice and straightforward, if they do put me in mind of an overgrown wedding favour bag.

The cardboard label says "widely recycled" but that may refer to the cardboard.

As you say, the interesting bit will be figuring how to remember to take them!

I have just had a thought (happens occasionally!). I am a knitter and when I order wool on the internet it often comes in nice drawstring bags. They must be very similar - as you say, like overgrown wedding favour bags. I do use them as gift bags, especially if I have knitted or sewn the gift myself but I do have a few in my odds and sods basket so may put those in the shopping bags and see how they fare.

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

I don't know if anyone watched Shop Well For Less last night but they were showing the family how to make their own cleaning products which seemed to work better than the branded items. I will be watching it again and making notes to give them a go.

never_too_old

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire wrote: »

I don't know if anyone watched Shop Well For Less last night but they were showing the family how to make their own cleaning products which seemed to work better than the branded items. I will be watching it again and making notes to give them a go.

Did you manage to make a note of the ingredients and method.I tried googling it with no luck.:)

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

never_too_old wrote: »

Did you manage to make a note of the ingredients and method.I tried googling it with no luck.:)

Not yet. I will try and watch it back tonight to write it down and then let you all know what it is.

CurlyTop

Hi

I found this on the Internet in relation to the Shop Well do for Less cleaning products

https://www.realitytitbit.com/whats-on/this-shop-well-for-less-home-made-cleaning-product-could-save-you-thousands

Hope it helps

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

Thanks for that Curly Top. I was about to type it all in after watching it again this weekend.

DigForVictory

I went to the Oxford Waitrose with the bring your own container section yesterday.

Wonderful idea but the current range of products is “a bit Waitrose” - quinoa, & pumpkin seeds & dried mango pieces but only one healthy breakfast flake & somewhat uninspiring everyday eating. I like pasta, but not 6 times a week!

I took a refillable bottle & a nice lass deployed the (staffed) tap to fill it (I suspect they have Really Big Winebags) & son blinked at the five beers on offer but we’d not brought a suitable vessel & to buy one (lovely dark glass) put £4 on the tab immediately - an empty wine bottle a mere £1. Parents happily testing the wine for me - I had to drive.

The coffee looked glorious but not knowing my parents exact preferences, I’ve left them to research the playground (chose your bean, grind to preferred size, decant into provided bag & print off price sticker).

I wasn’t able to shovel any product straight into my own tub - the scales ask which of their paper or mesh bags (3 assorted sizes for £6!) - as they sell a fleet of possible containers too, I’d expected a load, zero, fill, price option but looking I could see why they’d opted for a more restrictive regime to begin with.

I had an overheating teenager with me who nearly had a seizure at a £2 tin of lentil soup (brand name organic I soothed him, & towed him off towards chocolate) so my researches were not as thorough as I’d hoped but it’s an excellent if very Waitrose start. The chocolate was delicious, too.