Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think 5p for each carrier bag is a rip off

175 replies

AuntiePickleBottom · 26/09/2011 17:33

i just seen notices from the 1st October every shop in Wales has to charge a minimum of 5p per carrier bag, even the paper ones.

Now I guess that I could take my own but I don't think it is very hygienic

OP posts:
AuntieMaggie · 26/09/2011 18:31

I don't think this is anything to do with the supermarkets wanting to make more money - its about the government taking steps to reduce landfill waste. As some have already said other countries have been charging for years and some don't even have them. Its about time!

PetiteRaleuse · 26/09/2011 18:36

YABU. Buy bags for life and re-use them. In France we've been doing that for years. And over here you don't see plastic bags littering railway lines, trees and parks.

SardineQueen · 26/09/2011 19:16

Gosh it's very wide ranging isn't it.

I agree with charging for bags in supermarkets - if you are doing a "big shop" then you know what you're doing and should be able to take bags.

If you are out at work and suddenly fancy a burger (so don't have a requisite pile of tupperware boxes to hand) it seems a bit naff not to be able to give you a bag to put it in, and potentially a suit-ruiner. I would have thought that hot cooked food might be exempted.

SardineQueen · 26/09/2011 19:18

So they give you a burger and chips but you can't have a bag.

I imagine that was the "hygiene issue" that the OP was talking about - you wouldn't necessarily want to reuse a bag that had had hot cooked and probably greasy food in it. Or a dressed salad or something. When you get a salad bar lunch it's hard not to get some of the dressing on the outside of the carton.

In those instances I think this is more of a tax rather than encouraging people to resuse TBH.

exoticfruits · 26/09/2011 19:20

I think it is a great idea-the only way to get some people to use their own bags is to make them pay.

StrandedBear · 26/09/2011 19:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

princesspuds · 26/09/2011 19:26

My DP works for a supermarket doing the home shopping and has been told that i anyone requires bags for their shopping they have to pay a subsidy of 50p for them, they don't bag bottles, cereal, or fruit and veg though.

cookcleanerchaufferetc · 26/09/2011 19:28

Why paper bags though? They break down easily, do not harm the environment in the same way as plastic. This is just another example of how we are being ripped off. Why aren't manufacturers forced to reduce their packaging on products? Toys are an amazing example - plastic, card, plastic ties, thread ties, screws, and all those can be found in one toy!

instantfamily · 26/09/2011 19:40

and you can get decomposable bags for your bathroom bin.

SardineQueen · 26/09/2011 19:51

cookcleaner I agree.

The amount of packaging on most supermarket foods is shameful. I would rather see something done about that, than charge people for bags that are a. biodegradable and b. they are unlikely to be able to actually use again

It's like the energy saving stuff.

Individuals are exhorted to "do their bit" - threatened, fined etc etc while big business gets away scott free. Look at the water saving stuff and hosepipe bans - meanwhile the water company around here is wasting literally millions of litres of water through leaks.

I am a keen environmental type but still I think that the emphasis is sometimes wrong and stuff like the measures in wales could have unintended side effects.

quirrelquarrel · 26/09/2011 19:59

You mean, why do you have to pay for something which isn't yours? Gosh! That's harsh.

Graciescotland · 26/09/2011 20:00

I think it is a bit of a rip off. Each plastic bag costs the super market a fraction of a penny.

Supermarkets are keen to reduce carrier bag usage because it can become "branded litter" and because they can be seen to do something.

The number of tonnes of plastic used in carrier bags each year is dwarfed by the amount of waste plastic used in packaging and transportation. Pallet wrap for example.

Concordia · 26/09/2011 20:00

given that you probably save £££s each month in prescription charges, i don't think you can complain. you can bring a bag with you, i can hardly mix my own medications!!!

Graciescotland · 26/09/2011 20:01

Disclaimer: I work in the biodegradable plastics industry so have a vested interest.

LittleMissFlustered · 26/09/2011 20:25

I'm with SuePurblybilt Get a bit of Minchin in your ears and rock out with your canvas bag. Regardless of cost and hygiene, they don't split on your way home and scatter your shopping to the four winds! Grin

cookcleanerchaufferetc · 26/09/2011 20:28

And presumably the supermarkets are going to reduce prices for all the money that will be generated through people buying bags at 5p/saved through purchasing fewer bags ..... Yeh right!

PastGrace · 26/09/2011 20:37

Oh oh oh but I came on here to post . [sulks]

mousymouse · 26/09/2011 20:43

yabvu
take cotton shopping bags that you can wash if you are worried about hygiene.

DoingTheBestICan · 26/09/2011 20:55

I think it is a great idea & i cant wait for it to kick in,all the money raised by the company i work for is going to MacMillan nurses.

Some people ask for a bag for something like a packet of tissues,then they put them in their trolley or large shopper,if it makes people think twice about taking a bag then thats a good thing.

Oh & as an aside,Concordia,yes we do have free prescriptions in wales but we also have longer waiting lists then England,so it is swings & roundabouts really isnt it?

Graciescotland · 26/09/2011 21:00

As a pet peeve, whilst companies do often donate the cost of the bags to charity they keep the interest.

NestaFiesta · 26/09/2011 21:28

YABU. Carrier bags ruin the environment and there is no need for them once we all get into the habit of taking shopping bags with us when we go shopping.

If you are worried about hygiene OP, I can tell you now that those tiny fold away Asda black shopping bags come out lovely in the washing machine.

Also two pages back I spotted you Andrewofogg "Yet another reason not to live in Wales"- Don't be hating the Wales, it is stunningly beautiful!

Andrewofgg · 26/09/2011 21:33

NestaFiesta I know Wales is beautiful - in parts, not Cardiff! - it's the people who run it I have issues with. Still, you choose 'em and you live with 'em!

nolembit · 26/09/2011 22:03

The whole plastic carrier bag issue is a great big red herring endorsed by supermarkets to take the onus away from them to reduce their packaging. The amount of plastic in a few carrier bags is minimal in comparison to the vast quantity of plastic in a full weekly shop. If you want to be more environmentally friendly then shop in dedicated butchers, greengrocers etc - these however are few and far between these days as by taking the easy option of shopping for everything under one roof we have aided their demise.

aldiwhore · 26/09/2011 22:12

Aldi have been charging for years and no one cares or minds.

YABU OP, as for meats, they're mostly packed pretty tight anyway, and you can always spend 5p for a nice new fresh one.

I'm no eco warrior but the charge is long overdue and I look forward to when it happens in the rest of the UK.

NestaFiesta · 26/09/2011 22:16

Andrew, point taken. But I never chose 'em!:)

Anyway, in North Wales they already do the 5p a bag thing. They wait until all your items are falling about everywhere and then act surprised when you ask to buy a bag. Or at least the grumpy cow who served me did, 4 times.

She told me the price as if it was out of my league "There's a 5p charge on bags"
"I think I can manage that"