to ask you all please, if you hate plastic bags, get your own reusable ones!

[mythical]

i'm a CS in a high street shop that charges for carrier bags and has been doing so for 4 years.

the amount of grief i get from customers is unreal, i'm just wondering why!
Whenever i go shopping i take my own bags, and if i forget, i will buy some or accept the free ones they have.

I always get the - "why do you charge for bags?" - most explanations are discarded instantly with a huff.
"i don't want to buy plastic bags!" - fair enough! but if you care about landfill it doesn't make sense to then request 10 little free bags and stuff your weekly shop in there..

Oh and just quickly! if i'm asking if you would like me to pack for you it doesn't mean i think you are incompetent at packing, i'm just offering my help! (and because we have to)

Sorry! rant over - had a string of grumpy customers today and i'm normally a very cheery happy person!

With all the waste that is generated in the supply chain, I resent that I am told that not using a plastic bag is going to somehow save the planet

Indeed. Like being told we must switch off the light the second we leave a room, when shops/offices leave theirs on all night.

Of course it is worth doing all this stuff anyway. Every little helps and all that. Speaking of Tesco, it really pisses me off that you get clubcard points for reusing bags there, when their bags fall apart after about 37 seconds (29 if the contents are heavy) - what a joke.

I hate paying 5p or whatever for a bag if it has the store name all over. I would happily pay for a blank bag

The whole we want to save the environment crap that some retailers carp on about is another excuse to get more money out of shoppers

If I am buying groceries its my own bags, but if I am buying clothes I would like them in a nice clean bag that offers a modicum of protection from any bad weather. And if I have spent a fair amount of money then I would like that bag to be free.

Tiger - more double standards- they want you to use their bags- why are they bright green or bright orange... Hmmm

i would reuse bags, but imagine the germs that these bags must have in them...don't fancy putting my fresh food in a bag that may have had raw meat in there

AuntiePickle - you put raw meat in carrier bags?! Isn;t that a bit unhygenic? Surely you wrap it first. Do supermarkets even do unwrapped raw meat anymore - elf and safety surely would be a problem?

On the news a few months ago they reminded people to not put raw meat (wrapped, but still can leave bacteria) in cloth bags unless they wash them after. I gather from the news that some people have been getting ill from contaminated foods.

I HATE shops that charge for bags. Just a way for them to look smug and environmentally friendly while making more money. I would never take it out on the person on the till, though - I just try to avoid those stores.

Here in Canada, we pay for grocery bags (5 cents) and other store bags are free. Reuseable bags, that fold up flat and shut with a snap, are 1 dollar. Most everyone I know uses the reusable bags. They can go through the wash, even the heavy plastic fiber ones, and fold up to the size of a cd case.
Most people keep one or two in the bottom of their purse, or about 20 in the trunk of the van
The reuseable ones last for years, and dont rip if you put cereal boxes in them, or cans of juice. I still get some plastic one to use in the trash can.

To be fair to M&S, don't they donate the profit from the bags to a charity? (I think it's Groundwork) also are doing some stuff behind the scenes about cutting energy from transport etc. Though they still overpackage and fly veg in from Kenya.

I get really hacked off at being charged for plastic bags and once left $200 worth of books at the till at Borders when they wanted to charge me 20 cents for bags - if a shop cares about the environment they should be using paper bags, otherwise they are just passing on what should be a business cost to the customer under the guise of "being green".

I bring reusables to the supermarket and have a small shopping bag that folds out in my handbag but if I don't happen to have one available I want the shop to provide something to carry my purchase in for free and yes, I will point out my dissatisfaction (politely of course) to the salesperson if they try and charge me.

I just don't get the flimsy plastic bags.
they break so easily so that you have to have a few bags just for a small shop. plus those bags are useless as bin bags because of the holes.
for shopping by car I use a foldable crate = no bags needed.
for shops in between I use those cotton bags that sometimes come free with goodies, only use a fruit and veg bag for the meat to avoid contamination.

oh, and I don't mind being charged for a bag. my own fault for not remembering to take my own bag/crate with me.

i thought that was a myth?

Really, in my opinion they should just give the bloody bags out...stop lecturing people on the enironment (considering how much waste they produce) and stop charging

If you forget your bag you forget your bag...big whoop

Imo it's just an excuse to charge customers for something else

I agree! Makes me very cross when stores lecture on plastic bags but shrink wrap their fruit. Makes me want to yell "Fuck Off" in a very childish manner

I think the difference between carrier bags and the free small ones is that carrier bags have the capacity to become branded litter so the supermarkets like to be seen to doing something about it. M&S charge for reusable, Tesco use biodegradable etc. It's a minuscule amount when compared with the amount of plastic waste that goes out the back door. Cynical marketing methinks.

Oh and I would like to apologise to OP for my previous post insofar as she does sound rather nice...and I guess she can't help the M and S policy personally...

I agree M&S has double standards re packaging and the environment, but I know it's not the cashiers' fault so I keep my thoughts to myself when I'm in the shop.

I use carrier bags to line bins at home instead of buying rolls of bin liners. If supermarkets were that bothered about landfill they would be lecturing us on the use of bin liners as well as carrier bags wouldn't they?

LolMonkey 'I always have a bootfull of reusable bags. That's where they live, my reusables, in the boot. If I ever remember to actually take them out of the boot it'll be a fucking miracle.'

Me too.

It's not the cashier's fault and they don't deserve to be given abuse or shouted at over it, people who object to the charges for carrier bags should raise the issue directly with the company through their customer services department. I'm sure this is what must have happened with TKMaxx as I don't think I have been charged for a bag the last couple of times in there.

Over here we've had to pay for plastic bags for years.Hardly anyone uses them and brings their own.Never been an issue with it,except for once I saw a poor girl in Tesco getting an ear bashing from this guy (I think he may have been Welsh) about charging for bags.

i don't put raw meat directly into the bags, it is wrapped, by it do leak sometimes.....hence why i do like reusable bags

I agree with Heidikat I'm a cashier in two different shops, one charges the other doesn't, but I wasn't part of the consultation process in either shop! I can see customers frustration but making a sarky (and sometimes quite aggressive :( ) comment isn't going to help. I wonder what customers expect us to do sometimes?

I have to say that M&S is the one shop that I never forget my reusable bags for, so their campaign has worked on me :)
I don't mind paying 5p for a strong bag like the ones M&S give out, but the TK Maxx ones are so thin that you can't use them again, which annoys me