Great Carrier Bag Heist

[Baxenden Bank]

The great thing about the better quality hessian bags (remember where I reside ) is that they also have an internal plasticised waterproof lining and also they usually have handles that are kind to your hands, whereas I am sure that plastic carrier bags were invented to incorporate one of the tortures of the Spanish Inquisition by both damaging the skin on your fingers at the same time as cutting off the blood supply to them.

Doesn't your man do your shopping for you? Or the Fortnum and Masons boy deliver on his bicycle

 

[IanXC]

I'll still be needing plastic bags though; I use them for a variety of stuff from putting in my bathroom bin (so I'll be buying plastic bin liners that won't fit properly in future), for my swimming costume and other wets and for other bits and bobs around the house.

This is my objection to the policy... I sensibly reuse plastic carrier bags (principally for rubbish bags), imposition of a price on them just results in me having to buy them, or plastic bin liners. That said I have been using more than I really need of late on the basis I can build up my stock!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

This is my objection to the policy... I sensibly reuse plastic carrier bags (principally for rubbish bags), imposition of a price on them just results in me having to buy them, or plastic bin liners. That said I have been using more than I really need of late on the basis I can build up my stock!

But is it not the case that whilst some of the bin liners and certain of the plastic carrier bags these days are made from bio-degradable plastic, not all of them are so and items contained in the non-degradable bags that enter landfill sites will still cause problems.

 

[Welshman]

Here in Wales, the policy seems to be working well.

It's just a matter of being a good boy scout and being prepared - taking a hessian bag with you when you go to buy your fish and chips/Chinese take-way [and watching people trying to carry away several hot polystyrene containers in their arms!].

I always try to ensure my bag for life is in the car with me when I go out, in case I call in on the supermarket on the way back.

And if Mrs Welshman cannot accompany me, I keep a recyclable shopping carrier in the boot. [!]

 

[table38]

I can understand it for supermarket bags, but in Wales you also have to pay 5p at the McDonalds Drive-through, and even 5p for those tiny flat paper bags they put birthday cards in!

And if Mrs Welshman cannot accompany me, I keep a recyclable shopping carrier in the boot. [!]

The "for life" issue might go away suddenly if she reads that

 

[AM9]

I can understand it for supermarket bags, but in Wales you also have to pay 5p at the McDonalds Drive-through, and even 5p for those tiny flat paper bags they put birthday cards in!

It all helps to get people into the correct habits. Get used to it.

 

[table38]

It all helps to get people into the correct habits. Get used to it.

Oh don't worry, I think we are all getting used to these headline-grabbing but totally ineffective token gestures towards environmentalism

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Paying for carrier bags has been going on for years in Ireland. Many shops do a 'bag for life' deal. If you wear it out you get another one FOC.

I've worn several out and not one has ever been replaced free; they all invariably claim the bag has been "damaged" and that isn't covered. That goes for Tesco, Iceland and Waitrose.

Has anyone ever actually managed to get a bag for life exchanged when it has worn out???

 

[table38]

Has anyone ever actually managed to get a bag for life exchanged when it has worn out???

Yes! Stockport Tesco. And I didn't even ask, the checkout lady offered when she saw the state of the bag (which unusually for me, I had remembered to bring with me from the car). I was well impressed

 

[IanXC]

But is it not the case that whilst some of the bin liners and certain of the plastic carrier bags these days are made from bio-degradable plastic, not all of them are so and items contained in the non-degradable bags that enter landfill sites will still cause problems.

The overall degradation period for a standard landfill site is much longer than that for any plastic carrier bag...

 

[GatwickDepress]

I'm quite surprised that certain retailers haven't gone down the US route and adopted paper bags - I think it's still only Primark and certain independent retailers who offer these. While they don't always suit our rainy climate, surely there should be more pressure on retailers to adopt fully recyclable bags rather than charging the consumer for plastic bags?

The quality of Primark's paper bags seem to be quite variable. I had an entire bottom rip apart the other week when all I was carrying was a tunic!

 

[Clip]

The decrease in litter is worth it.

South Australia was the first state to introduce the ban on lightweight plastic bags (heavy plastic still allowed if not supplied free, and biodegradable lightweight bags are allowed for fresh food) in 2009, just as we were also the nation's leaders in introducing a recycling deposit on pre-packaged drinks sold in cans, cartons and bottles.

You may be surprised to know that we were doing the bottles one decades ago. Return your bottle to the pop man when he brought you your pop on a saturday and you a little money back - 5p 0r 10p back.

I do believe this practice still happens in Scotland you you are behind the times with that

 

[Johnuk123]

I've worn several out and not one has ever been replaced free; they all invariably claim the bag has been "damaged" and that isn't covered. That goes for Tesco, Iceland and Waitrose.

Has anyone ever actually managed to get a bag for life exchanged when it has worn out???

I took about 4 into Tesco which were dropping to bits and asked if they could be replaced under the bag for life deal.

I was told that the bag for life was finished now and I would have to buy some new ones.

I said surely if it's a bag for life it can never be finished and she agreed but said she still couldn't replace them and I had to write to head office.

 

[AM9]

I took about 4 into Tesco which were dropping to bits and asked if they could be replaced under the bag for life deal.

I was told that the bag for life was finished now and I would have to buy some new ones.

I said surely if it's a bag for life it can never be finished and she agreed but said she still couldn't replace them and I had to write to head office.

Waitrose here offer to replace them without being asked if they see one that's obviously beyond its useful life.

 

[theblackwatch]

Another plastic bag user here, this time for the daily removal of litter etc etc from our cats litter tray. Ok the bags dont degrade when we chuck m away, but you wouldnt want them too would you given whats inside? We are now having to buy bags on ebay for this purpose!↲

Alternatively, re-use all these so-called 'charity' bags which get pushed through the letterbox at a rate of several a week. The majority aren't proper charity bags either, they are run by a commercial firm who donate a small amount to a charity - thats a different topic though!

 

[AM9]

Oh don't worry, I think we are all getting used to these headline-grabbing but totally ineffective token gestures towards environmentalism

See my post #14 in this thread. It's not unusual for a number of people to take a bit of time to accept these issues.

 

[Johnuk123]

Waitrose here offer to replace them without being asked if they see one that's obviously beyond its useful life.

Apparently most supermarkets replace bags from elsewhere now as they think they might as well have their name on them.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The overall degradation period for a standard landfill site is much longer than that for any plastic carrier bag...

Obviously so, but anything which lessens the problems caused considerably as a result of the number of non-biodegradeable plastic bagged waste that are deposited on an annual basis in each landfill site, is something to be welcomed.

 

[Greenback]

As a Welsh resident, perhaps you can explain. The self-service tills ask, at the start of my 'shopping experience', how many bags I am using today. Does that mean it will charge me 5p x that number. I may be using bags that I brought with me, surely it means 'how many bags do I want to purchase today? I feel an email to Tesco HQ coming on.

As a foreigner, when I was last in Swansea and being unfamiliar with your ways, I just took a bag and put my shopping in it, didn't realise you had to pay for it!

Yes, you just tell the machine you aren't using any if you brought your own.

I planning Rail Jaunts to Carlisle and Berwick for the very same purpose

Great minds think alike!

This is my objection to the policy... I sensibly reuse plastic carrier bags (principally for rubbish bags), imposition of a price on them just results in me having to buy them, or plastic bin liners. That said I have been using more than I really need of late on the basis I can build up my stock!

I used to do the same. When I was living in Reading I amassed a wardrobe full of carrier bags, far more than I needed and more than I could ever have used. Which I suppose shows how good the charge is for reducing the number sin circulation.

Here in Wales, the policy seems to be working well.

It's just a matter of being a good boy scout and being prepared - taking a hessian bag with you when you go to buy your fish and chips/Chinese take-way [and watching people trying to carry away several hot polystyrene containers in their arms!].

I always try to ensure my bag for life is in the car with me when I go out, in case I call in on the supermarket on the way back.

And if Mrs Welshman cannot accompany me, I keep a recyclable shopping carrier in the boot. [!]

Absolutely right on all counts! I keep a recyclable bag in my coat pocket in case I buy a few things unexpectedly.

Oh don't worry, I think we are all getting used to these headline-grabbing but totally ineffective token gestures towards environmentalism

I think the 5p charge has been very effective in Wales and NI.

 

[AM9]

I think the 5p charge has been very effective in Wales and NI.

As it will be in England when they finally get around to legislating for charges.

 

[Greenback]

Yes, I agree!

 

[table38]

See my post #14 in this thread. It's not unusual for a number of people to take a bit of time to accept these issues.

So imagine the scene. I'm sat in my car in the McDonalds Drive-through being handed various plastic and wax-coated paper cartons. The paper bag, the ONE thing I could usefully recycle because it won't be contaminated by food, costs me an extra 5p.

I think it'll take me more than a bit of time to accept that's a rational idea.

Supermarket bags? Great idea, stops them being given out like confetti. But extending it to ALL bags is just a pointless gesture, which just shows (as usual) that the idiots who dream up these schemes haven't really thought them through.

 

[meridian2]

5p is hardly breaking the bank now is it, and all it seems to me as if it's only inconveniencing you.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

So imagine the scene. I'm sat in my car in the McDonalds Drive-through being handed various plastic and wax-coated paper cartons. The paper bag, the ONE thing I could usefully recycle because it won't be contaminated by food, costs me an extra 5p.

I think it'll take me more than a bit of time to accept that's a rational idea.

Supermarket bags? Great idea, stops them being given out like confetti. But extending it to ALL bags is just a pointless gesture, which just shows (as usual) that the idiots who dream up these schemes haven't really thought them through.

If you did not give your custom to such establishments, you would not have their packaging to deal with....and most probably, a darn sight more healthy. However, noting your deep intense knowledge of the Stalybridge railway station revered buffet shrine, I grant you carte blanche absolution for any refreshments food or drink so purchased within those hallowed walls....

 

[DownSouth]

You may be surprised to know that we were doing the bottles one decades ago. Return your bottle to the pop man when he brought you your pop on a saturday and you a little money back - 5p 0r 10p back.

I do believe this practice still happens in Scotland you you are behind the times with that

We've had the container deposit for decades too - both the old style voluntary schemes you're talking about (which more resembles a primitive store loyalty discount than a proper litter reduction initiative) and the modern container deposit since 1977.

A modern container deposit scheme does not rely on the customer taking it back to the vendor where they got it, but they can go to any recycling depot with their cans/bottles/cartons. Collecting drink containers for recycling earns the Scouts in SA over $9 million every year, and they are by no means the only community group to benefit from people handing over their empty drink containers.

The ban on non-degradable lightweight bags was what started in 2009.

 

[Yew]

Interestingly, this is being pushed through under climate change legislation, so wont even see the house of commons.. Truly, this is democracy at work.

And I must reiterate the points of this being no more then a badly thought out token gesture towards environmentalism, I even wrote to my MP about it, and received a letter from some conservative minister that totally missed all my points and babbled on for half a page about a 'blight on the countryside' and '1000 year degradation times' He did however suggest, that the legislation may exempt easily degradable bags, which, if so, reduces my opposition to this farce of environmentalism slightly, however the fact that this will not be heard in the commons still gets my back up, why have a democracy if we are more than happy to circumvent it when it suits the government, using a link between climate change and carrier bags that is at best tenuous.

I wonder, if I now have to pay for a carrier bag, if it will still have TESCO emblazoned upon it, as if so, I will have to start charging for my services advertising their stores, as I am no longer getting the bags for free.

On the bright side, this is pretty much the only piece of Lib Dem manifesto to actually be enacted by the ConDems...

 

[Oswyntail]

Interestingly, this is being pushed through under climate change legislation, so wont even see the house of commons.. Truly, this is democracy at work......

Please explain

 

[CarltonA]

Marks & Spencer have been charging a shilling for a food carrier bag throughout the UK for some time I believe. Tesco refusing to replace their bags for life is unacceptable. Sainsbury & M&S have replaced my worn out bags for life in the past. M&S even gave me a new bag without confiscating my old one.

 

[burneside]

Marks & Spencer have been charging a shilling for a food carrier bag throughout the UK for some time I believe. Tesco refusing to replace their bags for life is unacceptable. Sainsbury & M&S have replaced my worn out bags for life in the past. M&S even gave me a new bag without confiscating my old one.

According to a member of staff at the M&S I use, hardly anybody pays for their bags on the self-serve tills, I just wonder how they are going to police this if the charge becomes mandatory.

 

[table38]

According to a member of staff at the M&S I use, hardly anybody pays for their bags on the self-serve tills, I just wonder how they are going to police this if the charge becomes mandatory.

In Wales, they just don't put the empty bags out on the self-serve tills - you have to ask for them, or buy a "bag for life" - or of course bring your own! and don't leave them in the car like I always seem to do