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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:
LittleMissFlustered · 26/09/2011 22:40

PastGrace There's always room for another post about Minchin, so worry not:)

unpa1dcar3r · 26/09/2011 22:42

I live in wales and am a tad annoyed at this cos
A) I use them to pick up the dog poo in the garden (don't wanna pay 5p for that privilege)
B) I am paying to advertise a shops name so they should all delete their names of the shop if they are really doing it for the environment (which they're clearly not)
C) As someone suggested on 'Real' radio today, where is the money going and could it not be given to charity?

I'll just get me mates in England to send me loads...

unpa1dcar3r · 26/09/2011 22:44

Nesta; I'm in North wales too and they're not charging yet here. Whereabouts (roughly) are you?

squeakytoy · 26/09/2011 22:46

In any supermarket you can usually get free cardboard boxes. The ones that veg comes in are great, and so are the ones which the wine came in. Put your shopping in that, then recycle the boxes after you have unpacked them. No need for carrier bags at all.

Ariesgirl · 26/09/2011 22:47

Unhygienic? What? Are you using them as nappies or something? Are you one of those people who think anything that has been used before is rife with bacteria? Are you not aware of the environmental impact of plastic? You should be. Talk about clueless.

unpa1dcar3r · 26/09/2011 22:51

Yes that's a great idea Squeaky (except everyone will be doing it now to save money) but I would do it cos I got a log burner so can use the cardboard for that too. Job done!

My daughter n SIL did a bit of shopping for me recently and came home with 4 of those 'bags for life'. all I can think is how depressing, if these are meant to last my lifetime i must defo have one foot in the bloody grave already, they're puny. Anyway they nicked em so it was OK. Wink

bilblio · 26/09/2011 22:52

Unhygienic?
We've been using our own carrier bags for at least 5 years now, we don't have a particular bag for cooked or uncooked meats, we tend to split things into bags for fridge stuff (cooked & uncooked), tins, toiletries etc.
Haven't ended up with food poisoning yet.

YABU, I wish the rest of the UK would hurry up and do the same, then I might stop being so irritated by seeing plastic bags tangled up in trees etc.

SardineQueen · 27/09/2011 09:19

aries and bilblio, I do think it is unhygienic to reuse a bag for hot cooked food. The paper ones they normally give you get grease through from the chips etc -- will people really reuse them? And it's not as if you can wash them if they're paper.

SardineQueen · 27/09/2011 09:23

I also think that it is utterly reasonable to expect people to take bags to the shops, slightly less reasonable to expect them to carry them at all times. Who knows when they will fancy a hot lunch when they are at work, miles from home? Who takes bags with them when they go to a club in case they fancy a kebab afterwards? Are these bags really going to be reused if bought, given that they will have had hot possibly messy (sauces, dressings etc) food not stunningly well wrapped in them?

I think these rules go a bit too far personally and would prefer it if they made supermarkets and larger shops charge, and did something about the amount of packaging that gets wasted.

InTheNightK1tchen · 27/09/2011 09:24

It is a tax designed to discourage consumption. It is not supposed to be considered a bargain.

SoupDragon · 27/09/2011 09:26

How on earth did people cope before plastic carrier bags?

SardineQueen · 27/09/2011 09:27

They need to pitch it higher then, high enough to prevent people actually buying stuff if they don't have a bag with them. Maybe a couple of quid.

SardineQueen · 27/09/2011 09:28

Bags were made out of other materials, soupdragon.

notimetotidy · 27/09/2011 09:34

Someone mentioned about putting meat into tupperware boxes - do you have to pay for the bags that, eg, mince from the butchers goes into - the little bag, not the carrier bag? Also, do you have to pay for paper bags that you get tomatoes in from the veg shop?

mousymouse · 27/09/2011 09:39

we use those foldable shopping crates for the big weekly shop. take up minimal storage space at home and are easy to carry upstairs. you can even get them with wheels if you fancy that. for the bits and bobs inbetween I have a foldable bag in my handbag that can go in the wash when needed.

SardineQueen · 27/09/2011 09:42

mousy they look ideal for young people to take with them on a night out clubbing in case they fancy a kebab and chips afterwards! Grin

Stoirin · 27/09/2011 09:45

don't be a twat, buy a few bags!

In Ireland this came in almost 10 years ago, reducing carrier usage by 94% within 3 years.

Its a no brainer.

SardineQueen · 27/09/2011 09:50

Is it just carrier bags in Ireland, stoirin, or does it include things like paper bags for hot food?

squeakytoy · 27/09/2011 09:57

Many food takeaway places which are serving hot food use strong paper bags. Or if you have to a plastic one for 5p, then you buy one.. it isnt exactly a fortune, and if the end result is that there are a lot less plastic bags littering our planet, then it can only be a good thing.

The world managed perfectly well to get its shopping home before the introduction of carrier bags.

Stoirin · 27/09/2011 10:05

paper bags are free, as are little plastic bags for fruit/meat etc.

SardineQueen · 27/09/2011 10:23

squeakytoy paper bags are included under the legislation in wales, so hot takeaway food will be affected.

bilblio · 27/09/2011 10:24

Does this new rule cover paper bags too then? NO I wouldn't re-use a paper bag from a takeaway, but I also wouldn't expect to pay for that. I thought the rule was about reducing the amount of plastic.

And as for it being unreasonable to carry bags around in your handbag... I do. I have an onya bag Plenty big enough for a kebab and chips (not that I'd ever buy one... and if I did I'd be eating it straight away it'd be cold by the time I got home), or a quick dash to the supermarket, fold up to next to nothing, and shock horror, they're washable!!! Shock :o

SardineQueen · 27/09/2011 10:25

Yes it is to do with "single use" not to do with "plastic".

So any bag which is "single use" is covered under this.

"There are a few types of bag that are not covered by the single use carrier bag charge. These are bags that are designed to be reused regularly or for use away from the premises selling them. There are also some exemptions from the charge.
Bags that are not covered by the charge include those made from:
cloth;
jute;
cotton;
hessian.
Also, thick plastic ?bags for life? are exempt from the charge as they are designed to be reused."

SardineQueen · 27/09/2011 10:26

I have a bag in my handbag too bilblio Smile

I probably wouldn't have taken it out clubbing with me when I was 18 though!

cookcleanerchaufferetc · 27/09/2011 10:27

Also, where does the money go to ... presumably anyone who buys a bag is bad for the environment so that 5p should go towards the environment, just like air taxes go towards sorting out pollution ...... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha