to think a new law to ban plastic bags is absurd given how much other packaging there is?

[bunchoffives]

When I look in my recycling bin - which is huge - it's full of cardboard sleeves, plastic trays, plastic shrink wrap, plastic bottles, some glass, boxes that had plastic bags in them of sugar, boxes with individually wrapped cakes stock cubes etc etc etc.

In other words I pay council tax every month to take away the packaging food manufacturers have already charged me for (in the cost of the food) to help sell me their products.

AIBU to ask why doesn't Shiny Dave pass a law getting manufacturers and supermarkets to reduce packaging before fussing about the comparatively lesser issue of plastic bags?

The levy on plastic bags actually works. I live in Wales and always take bags shopping. I'd like to see more done to reduce packaging too.

I cant wait for the AIBU's when the levy comes to England as my only issue with it is how surly customer assistants become, they no longer even bother to fold clothes in some shops if you don't buy a bag.

5p per carrier bag, 10 carrier bags equals 50p, so if the shopping costs £80 who really cares!

Alternative argument is if shopping costs £80, the shop should pay the subsidy for the plastic bags. I really couldn't care less.

corus
that is sort of already the case in gemany.
there you can leave the packaging in recycling crates in the supermarkets. thy are obliged to provide them.
most supemarkets have packing shelves (just like at aldi and lidl) so you put your stuff fron trolley to conveyor and back into trolly. then either directly to the car where most people have a plastic crate or you pack into your own bags leaving unneccessary packaging behind.

England is the last place in the uk to introduce a bag tax. It's been in place in Scotland, Wales and norn irn for some time now, as well as in other countries like Ireland , Germany et al So there is LOADS of real evidence available about how effective it us in practice.

The result is a very noticeable reduction in plastic bags littering the countryside, posing a risk to wildlife, being an eyesore etc. Shoppers very quickly adapt to always carrying bags for life or similar. 5p per bag is not a lot to find if you really can't be bothered or have genuinely forgotten to bring your bags. Some items still provide a bag for free ( butchers for one) . I'm not sure if the money raised is used for specific purposes.

Corus,
Most cereal is packaged in a box and a big when a bag alone would generally be sufficient. The sizes of boxes are also larger than they have to be (a squatter one would use less cardboard). The manufacturers want their product to stand out on the shelves.

Usualsuspectt, I am usually a huge advocate of shop workers and fully sympathise with the fact that they often have poor pay and not great working conditions. However when you've just spent £50ish on a new dress (if you're that lucky) and the person who serves you doesn't even fold it after they've registered it on the till, and just leaves the dress on the counter, despite your reusable bag being on the counter, it can leave you a bit

I use plastic bags to line the bins. Surely I'm not the only person that does that?

Shinesmile we do that too.

YABU, again its a start (and as others have said its not a ban). And who knows - market forces should ultimately drive down excess packaging as a result!

Yes - I use them to line bins but despite DH and I reusing Bags for Life or canvas bags as often as we can, we still have a definite excess of plastic carrier bags.

This place looks very cool.... who knows, one day could it come here?

I'm in NI and use my bags for life but a pp has said I now need to buy bags to line my pedal bins? Seems like I'm not saving many polar bears by doing that!!

Usualsuspectt, I live in Wales so am used to putting a reusable bag on the counter along with any new purchase. It does get a bit annoying when you aren't given the same level of service if you take a bag as you do if you buy a bag. It's not a huge deal but it tends to happen more in clothes shops than supermarkets.

Sainsburys send no waste to landfill
M&s have plan A and send no waste to landfill
Waitrose do something similar less observant
But the actual food producers require oodles of packaging, we like our fruit and veg bagged
We expect cheap food
We expect convince

The bags are a start- look at Ireland, noone expects plastic bags now

Ha Process Yellow - very cool until a snotty kid sneezes over all the unwrapped food, or someone puts their hands in for a quick illicit snack!

I think its just a bit of common sense that's missing. We don't need a law passing to tell us to avoid plastic bags whenever possible. But we do need a law to make food manufacturers stop using ever more packaging. In their eyes packaging sells - but we pay for it - and the environment of course.

But taking on the food manufacturers will be a job for a more popular braver government than this one.

bunchoffives generally packaging is a cost to a company and they will avoid unless:

1. It prevents waste
2. it attracts consumers

to prevent 2, if no-one purchased over-packaged goods, then they would stop using them.

The answer is not more regulation, but education of the public - unless you believe the public are too stupid to know?

There has been a plastic bag levy for years in Ireland. And I still forget to take a bag with me when I go shopping. So I pay for one, or however many I need.

It's another tax folks, that's all..

As for Clothes shopping, it didn't take the companies long to start producing nice paper bags. So no problem there. (Unless its raining!)

Not sure about England but here in Wales the 5p goes to local charities. In most shops there is a pot to put the 5p in. In the beginning the charities were doing well, now 2 years later it is such a way of life you don't forget your bags! It's made a huge difference to the amount of rubbish flying about.

I wonder what would happen if customers started removing packaging before or at the till? Whilst most food packaging is minor, other stuff (toys, crockery, electricals) can be ridiculous.

I remember my first trip to Aldi/Lidl when we moved to Germany. I was shocked to see people removing outer leaves from cabbages, breaking the stalks off broccoli and so on. I got so used to it that when we returned to UK I was followed by a security guard when I did it in sainsburys . Felt so self conscious I never did it again. Made sense at the time though, all the food waste went into one huge cardboard box in the veg aisle and you only paid/took what you were actually going to cook.

Melty, in Wales you have to pay 5p for a paper bag so that doesn't really solve the problem either.

I certainly wouldn't like to be placing goods into customers own scruffy bags. Are we supposed to open up the bags to place the goods in for the customer? Don't think I'll be doing that!

What am I going to use for a dirty laundry bag when I go on holiday?

And all the times I re use a carrier bag to take stuff to work,etc.

I bet it won't be long before you can buy a roll of carrier bags like you currently can bin bags.