Is the lack of fuss about till receipts being a waste of paper because responsibility for them can't be pinned on us the masses?

[AgentZigzag]

I get at least two receipts per transaction from the bigger shop, and the shop keeps one for themselves.

Multiply that by the gazillions of transactions that take place every day, and that's a lot of paper.

I do my bit with the recycling/saving energy lark, not over the top, but the amount of paper in my purse (possibly because I haven't cleaned it out ) always makes me wonder why more isn't said about them.

Or is there and I've missed it?

Is there an alternative?

Your receipt is your proof of purchase, so if you have no receipt you can not prove you paid for it and if a return is needed you can not prove when and where you purchased it, therefore they are not just a piece of paper to be wasted as such.

I feel the other way. If you don't get an itemised receipt how do you know if you have been overcharged. Prob should be all on 1 piece of paper though like sainsburys.

The merchant needs the paper copy to prove they have had the payment in case it doesn't reach their bank.

lazy explained the other reason.

Erm, in the broader picture till receipts don't actually amount to that much waste. Some TMP rolls are made from recycled paper.

UnlessEveryoneBecomesPsychicWe'reStuckWithItTiggaxx

Sainsbury's seem to have started printing theirs on both sides of the paper. First noticed it on the self-blip till, now seems to be on all tills. Multiplied by the no of customers, that's a lot of trees saved I reckon...

I agree with everyone else, you need a proof of purchase, not only for any problems but also because it's the law

I like what Sainsburys are doing too, much less mess for my purse

Just be glad that you don't live in Greece where you have to keep all receipts and hand them in with you tax return to prove where you have spent all your money over the year!!

I wonder if at some point in the future you'll be able to access an online account with your loyalty card to keep track of what you have spent, and the loyalty card will have records the store can pull up as proof of purchase also, so receipts will only be printed for those transactions not using a loyalty card.

Farmfoods ask you if you want the receipt.Never been asked in any other shop.I never want it.
Didn't actually realise it was planet saving though.

It's something I've wondered rather than being hand wringingly anxious about

I save all ours just because you never know, so I know you need them (usually two days four hours after you've just chucked the one you need out ).

But surely with all the technology we can use, and people getting heated about things like switching off your standby buttons, some boffin somewhere must have thought about it.

Or is it because it's the big companies that'd have to do something about it that stops them finding an alternative?

Our local co-op has started asking if you want a receipt although only if you pay cash.

BertieBotts - that already happens in Costco. You do get a receipt, but if you need to take anything back you don't need a receipt, they just check your purchasing history.

Mistakes happen. Till receipts mean you can cross reference.

The shop also needs them for their accounting.

How about a generic smart card which you could swipe to load the receipt? Ideally you would then be able to check your receipts on-line. There is a solution - shops just need some motivation to come up with it.

Perhaps it will come as contactless payments become more widespread?