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AIBU?

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AIBU students don’t have bags?

144 replies

Hdlll · 24/09/2026 08:32

It’s freshers week at universities. Went in a supermarket next to a uni campus to collect a click n collect.
Whilst I was there I checked if my favourite spirits were on offer. One was.
On self scan, loads of students and all buying bags.

Students need to realise that bag charges have been in place for 11 years in England and longer in other parts of UK.

Plus this is going to eat into their budget

OP posts:
clapalongnow · 24/09/2026 14:09

Hdlll · 24/09/2026 13:13

Problem is those people who keep buying bags use the bags for rubbish. Bin bags are cheaper per unit and able to tie them up better

Don’t complain if you are skint

Nobody was complaining.

why do you care about how easy it is for someone to tie a bloody bag up anyway?

Hdlll · 24/09/2026 13:13

Problem is those people who keep buying bags use the bags for rubbish. Bin bags are cheaper per unit and able to tie them up better

Don’t complain if you are skint

OP posts:
Needmorelego · 24/09/2026 11:21

The bag tax was bought in so society would cut down on bag usage.
Unfortunately it was discovered that no gave a toss and were happy to pay for bags.
The tax price went up and up... people still happily paid for more bags.
Many shops now have ones with cute/seasonal designs on them which cost £1 or £1.50 but people still buy them because they want to collect them.
These students may have grown up with having to pay for bags but they don't care. They don't even think about it.
They just pay and count it as an everyday expense like bus fares or launderette costs.

DeftGoldHedgehog · 24/09/2026 11:13

I think some people just like to find fault or comment for the sake of it about young people. Or are rather ignorant.

When I was a brand new fresher and went to pay with my recently acquired debit card, a woman behind me in the queue said loudly and pointedly "Ugh! Why do students get credit cards?"

clapalongnow · 24/09/2026 11:13

What a weird thing to notice let alone be bothered enough to make a thread about how ‘students need to realise’

DeftGoldHedgehog · 24/09/2026 11:10

user293948849167 · 24/09/2026 11:08

They will accumulate a few reuseable shopping bags during freshers week I should think so they’ll be ok for the rest of term!

Edited

Indeed. Also the plastic kind can be reused (I'd suggest, for a wider range of things than a bag for life) so all good either way.

Meteorite87 · 24/09/2026 11:10

MickyMoonshine · 24/09/2026 10:18

I’d be more surprised if they did have shopping bags! Especially as many of the freshers I’ve encountered at work this week haven’t even brought pen 😂

No pen?! 😱
Organising my stationery for uni was one of the things I did commit fully to.

It was before the years of bag charges and the bags usually became bin liners after the groceries were carried home.

user293948849167 · 24/09/2026 11:08

They will accumulate a few reuseable shopping bags during freshers week I should think so they’ll be ok for the rest of term!

Iheartmysmart · 24/09/2026 11:04

I have loads of bags for life but still had to buy a reusable carrier bag in Sainsbury’s the other day as there was something on offer I use regularly so stocked up. I’d only taken one small bag in with me as I thought I’d only pick up a couple of bits.

I’m 59.

Meteorite87 · 24/09/2026 11:03

JustWalnut · 24/09/2026 08:42

I'm 45 with a huge collection of reusable bags and I still have to buy one from time to time! As long as they were paying for them I don't really see the issue.

Reminds me of the joke, "I've got enough 'bags for life' to last me a lifetime" 😉

I'm 47 and sometimes need to buy an additional bag.

The students will work it out after a few more grocery trips.

allthemind · 24/09/2026 11:03

HA! I agree with you entirely. It took me the last 12 years or whatever to persuade DH though.... we dropped DS2 off at uni yesterday and went to the supermarket on campus with him and the car was stuck in the multi storey carpark so had no bags handy, so we had to get 2 reusable bags. The young student running checkout in there was giving them to everyone free in fairness as apparently 'the QR codes weren't scanning'. I said to DS2 right you must bring these with you every time you go to the supermarket. He looked at me like I was insane. I did leave them in the student hall kitchen though so hopefully someone will use them.

alcovecupboards · 24/09/2026 10:58

Did you drink the spirits before posting this? Though I must thank you for the vision of a mad woman running up and down the checkouts demanding to know if people are students and if they've brought a bag with them.

DeftGoldHedgehog · 24/09/2026 10:51

Poppingby · 24/09/2026 10:47

What is your favourite spirits being on offer contributing to the story here? Did you forget a bit?

Wonder if the one spirit on offer may have contributed to the forgetting part. 🤔

DeftGoldHedgehog · 24/09/2026 10:48

Given they are paying anything from £500 to £1200 a month for accommodation I don't think paying 10p for a carrier bag is a huge consideration.

Plus I'm 51 years old, have an entire cupboard full of "bags for life" at home and still pay for plastic carrier bags sometimes. Such is life.

Poppingby · 24/09/2026 10:47

What is your favourite spirits being on offer contributing to the story here? Did you forget a bit?

MyArtfulGreySloth · 24/09/2026 10:45

Thank god this is all you have to worry about op 😂

Throughahedgebackwards · 24/09/2026 10:45

The first time I went to a supermarket as a student (long before the days of bags for life) I cheerfully filled my trolly, and packed my shopping into about 8 carrier bags before realising there wasn't a car waiting in the car park and it was a 25 minute walk home. It wasn't a mistake I made twice.

ChocolateApples · 24/09/2026 10:41

Jc2001 · 24/09/2026 08:43

When I went to uni it never occurred to me to take a shopping bag. Did it occur to you they may have bought them with the intention of reusing them? Everyone has to buy the first bag don't they?

I would think most people own one of the endless tote bags we all have by the age of 18. It's probably that they've not got into a shopping routine yet. Although I'd hope they had some experience of shopping for food at the parental home and taking bags by 18!

Restlessdreams1994 · 24/09/2026 10:40

Thank goodness you were there to tell Mumsnet about it 🙄

BlueSlate · 24/09/2026 10:36

Students need to realise that bag charges have been in place for 11 years in England and longer in other parts of UK.

This makes no sense.

Knowledge of bag charges and how long they've been in existence for does not negate the need for a bag.

Holeymoley28 · 24/09/2026 10:34

I still buy bags on 98% of my shopping trips.

Then I use the bag as a bin bag.

Hobbin · 24/09/2026 10:29

And next week they will have the bags they've just bought, plus about 12 free totes from Freshers' Fair.

What a peculiar thing to get judgy about.

Oioiqueen · 24/09/2026 10:24

They'll reuse them in about a month's time when they are down to their last fiver and it's a toss up between a pack of pasta or a couple of bags for life.

I mean I'm nearly 40 and have to attach a fold up reusable bag to a clip in my rucksack otherwise I'd never remember it when needed.

MickyMoonshine · 24/09/2026 10:18

I’d be more surprised if they did have shopping bags! Especially as many of the freshers I’ve encountered at work this week haven’t even brought pen 😂

AnAlpacaForChristmasPleaseSanta · 24/09/2026 10:15

The apparent emptiness of some people's lives will never cease to amaze.

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