Lidl launches reusable fruit and veg bags - MSE News

Paul_Herring

SnowTiger wrote: »

I'd guess that cost would be incentive enough for most people to reuse them time and time again. I doubt many people reuse plastic bags that cost 0p.

https://www.bagtheban.com/learn-the-facts/reusing/

More than 90% of Americans say they reuse their plastic bags at least once, for everything from lining trash cans to packing lunches and picking up after pets.1 In fact, Recyc-Quebec, a Canadian government agency, found that plastic bags have a 77.7% reuse rate as small trashcan liners.2

Also: https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/no-plastic-bag-sales-arent-down-90

The idea is that customers will use fewer of [bags for life compared to one-use plastic bags] – so the total amount of plastic being used over the course of a year will be less. But reports suggest this is not always working.

And the managing director of Iceland admitted the supermarket was actually using more plastic – not less – as a result of switching to bags for life.

He told the paper: “These bags for life are a thicker, higher grade of plastic… We are selling less of them but it’s not yet less enough that it’s compensated in terms of the extra weight that they are for the fewer amount of bags that we are selling. So therefore I haven’t yet reduced the total amount of plastic weight, even though I have eliminated 5p carrier bags.”

Cisco001

Biscuit_Tin wrote: »

Most of the fruit & veg (and nuts when available) on sale in Lidl seems to be sold loose, allowing customers to buy as much or as little as they need.
Although there are some larger sized pre-packed items. But it's usually the loose items that go into Lidl's 'Too good to waste'/'waste not' box



But if you mean fresh veg does not make up a large proportion of Lidl's sales, you may be right.

Arr...
That's why I have such impression.
I don't tends to use plastic bag if I buy 2 bananas or 1 onion or 2 carrot in any supermarket. I just put straight I my shopping bags.

DigForVictory

I bought a pair of the bags - they're about a foot square and put me in mind of wedding favour bags but bigger.

They're light - I wouldn't worry about them adding to the cost of my fruit & veg shop. I'm more intrigued to hear how many uses before they're neutral as it were being 100% polyester - high double digits sounds possible, but do-able.

The label does say widely recycled but I don't know if that refers to the cardboard it's printed on or the bag.

Now, how best to remember to take the blighters with?!

Biscuit_Tin

edinburgher wrote: »

As a regular customer (at least once a week) and one time employee, I disagree.

Vine tomatoes, a few "large veg" like squashes, aubergines and courgettes, baking potatoes, some bananas, cherries and a couple of varieties of nuts are loose in my local stores. At least half of the items in your photo have obviously been broken out of larger bags nearing their sell by dates.

Everything else is in a bag, shrinkwrap or a punnet/tub....

You are absolutely right, as I am sure the multitude of posters who have found your post useful and thanked you accordingly will also attest to.

I bow to the obvious greater knowledge of you and all your thankers.

Makes one wonder why the store is introducing reusable bags at 69p per pair for loose fruit & veg, rather than use the single use plastic bags they currently supply, when they hardly sell any loose fruit & veg. eh? :cool:



I can see those pre-packed spuds hiding in the background too!

Farway

Biscuit_Tin wrote: »

Makes one wonder why the store is introducing reusable bags at 69p per pair for loose fruit & veg, rather than use the single use plastic bags they currently supply, when they hardly sell any loose fruit & veg. eh? :cool:

I hope my store is not typical, but they had to remove the loose bags at one time because the local takeaways were nicking them instead of buying their own

The_Miser

I collect the single-use bags from major stores and have a wide variety of uses. when cooling pastry in the fridge before baking they should be covered - I use a plastic bag.

I use them as "tents" when propagating cuttings and seeds.

I use them for storing leftovers.

I buy apples in bulk for breakfast, stew them and put them in old spread containers. When frozen I transfer them into such bags and reuse the spread containers - nice blocks convenient for the freezer
I use them for storing large seeds overwinter after drying

It is simply a question of using imagination.

ALIBOBSY

I am lucky to be quite rural, nip down the lane to a couple of local farm shops for my meat and veggies.

Fruit and veg wise its pretty much all loose-can buy the paper sacks of potatos/onions/carrots. Obviously some products come from abroad-no banana trees over here lol, but local potatos grown in fields all around here are brilliant and miles cheaper than the supermarket. Also can get lovely often local cheeses nom nom. Paper bags used for the veggies and they will give you a cardboard box to carry things out.

The meat shop produce their own beef and will cut whatever peice you want, their mince beef is amazing, so low fat and tasty and all their meats are locally produced, high welfare or free range and often at the price supermarkets sell their mid priced or cheap products. They also do a Christmas club so go in in November, do an order to pick up Christmas eve and get a little card to pay some each week and spread the cost. But they do use plastic bags as well as some paper and boxes.

Not sure what Lidl are aiming to do with this as most items are pre packed surely?

Julio72

It's a good step but yeah the majority of items are all pre-packaged, unfortunately.

PasturesNew

69p for two. They can stick that right up their Jacksy, it's just a bit of middle-class "look how twee this bag is" posturing.

Kristyn

But there are so many types of bags like canvas tote bag then why we are using reusable fruit and veg bags.