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Original poster

Plastic bag law is a waste of time

212 replies

Rufusgy · 13/09/2015 21:39

Normal plastic bags are so thin and create hardly Any waste and many people reuse them. I use them to line my bins. So now will have to buy bin bags, that are usually thicker with more plastic.

These bags for life use a lot of plastic and I've seen study's that they waste far far more as they get grotty and people bin them after a dozen or so uses.

If they really wanted to make a change how about getting rid of all the plastic veg comes in or have a plastic bottle deposit scheme?

Its still all this stuff about a free bag if you buy raw fish or razor blades.

Attached a pic of my veg and all the plastic trays!

Plastic bag law is a waste of time
OP posts:
Konserve · 15/09/2015 16:49

but you don't have to pay extra to go shopping?
use crates/other bags/kartons

JohnCusacksWife · 15/09/2015 16:52

Pubes, I have 6 reusable bags that I've been using for years. 1 is jute and the others are recycled plastic (the virtually indestructible kind you get in France). They have never been washed and I remain far from convinced that they are truly worse for the environment than the thousands of disposable bags we would have used over the same period.

JohnCusacksWife · 15/09/2015 16:55

Becky, you'll soon get into the habit of taking your bags. It's really not worth stressing over. Up here the supermarkets were giving away bags for life for free in the run up to the change so you may find they do the same in England and it won't cost you anything to stock up with some.

OurBlanche · 15/09/2015 17:03

Becky, it will be every retailer, food, clothes, toys etc from October 5th.

And as ^^ said, many places will give away free sturdy bags over the next few weeks, so just stock up with them.

annaiclc2015 · 15/09/2015 18:18

Anyone remember those boxes tesco did years ago. They were blue plastic boxes that you bought then they had trolleys that they fit in so you filled them go to checkout and refill after scanning. No plastic bags and easier to pack in car. Why didn't they take off if this was coming in? I shop in Aldi and Lidl where you have to pay for bags and I have found the large blue IKEA bags are brilliant trolley liners and you can just chuck everything in and put in boot when done

unlucky83 · 15/09/2015 19:04

I was thinking that you used to be able to pick up cardboard boxes at the checkout - they had piles of them and not just for taking your shopping home but things like banana boxes are brilliant for storage...don't think I've seen that for years - not that I've been looking though.....
Remember a loooong time ago when I was a child (early 70s) sure you had to pay for bags - I know my parents used to bring the shopping home in boxes ...

LittleMissStubborn · 15/09/2015 19:15

Interesting that the populations of Wales and Scotland were allowed to have a moan and a discussion prior to their bag charge but the population of England are just being arsey when doing the same.

RomComPhooey · 15/09/2015 19:32

LittleMiss - I guess the difference is that it was untested here and it works just fine. We just can't work out why you are all still chuntering on about it when we've been at pains to reassure you all that the sky will not fall in when English stores start charging for bags.

BestIsWestOfGallifrey · 15/09/2015 19:35

It works well here in Wales. You just get used to it. And everyone has tiny fold up bags you can keep in your handbag. I was astounded the other day when the cashier in Waitrose gave me a wodge of bags, then I remembered I was over the border in England.

BestIsWestOfGallifrey · 15/09/2015 19:36

No, we all moaned about it too. You're entitled to a whinge.

LittleMissStubborn · 15/09/2015 19:42

I generally take bags with me anyway but I will still need to make sure I always have them.

Strangely enough I never forget them when I go to Aldi but often do elsewhere.

I was in Scotland at Easter and totally unaware and didn't realise I had been charged for bags until we got back to the holiday cottage over the border but then I went to the butchers and got a free bag, so I was left a little confused.

LarrytheCucumber · 15/09/2015 19:50

WH Smith have been charging for (very poor quality) bags for a while now, although I have not seen any evidence that the money goes to charity.
You just have to get used to always having bags with you. I have a little roll up bag in my handbag for day to day shopping and an assortment of other bags for big shops. I also keep a spare roll up bag in my car. You get used to it.

Pipbin · 15/09/2015 19:56

I'm not whinging. I don't see the problem.
No one does a weekly shop on a whim. You go on purpose. I personally have a load of bags that live in the boot. I unload them then put them back in the car. I also have a fold up bag that is on my keys so it can't be forgotten. If I am going into town for a few things then I take bag. Why is everyone finding this such hard work?

redbinneo · 15/09/2015 20:59

Our local authority (Isle of Wight) like us to put food waste into plastic bags rather than directly into the food bin. Shop bags are very handy for this, so it's a decision whether to buy bags especially for food waste or just chuck it in the black bag for landfill.

Baconyum · 15/09/2015 21:15

^^ that's crazy! Scotland, my local authority has food bins too, we're NOT allowed to use plastic bags in them which makes perfect sense. Why on earth does it need to be in bags?

I've never whinged but then the change had little effect on me. I honestly can't remember ever using plastic bags on a regular basis, but then I'm a lentil weaving, vegetarian Grin. When I left home at 18 purely on ease for myself my mum suggested reusable bags a rucksack and a trolley (didn't drive then) to make my weekly shop easier on my hands and back and to avoid acquiring a glut of the damn things in my very small bedsit! I'm struggling to think if she's ever used them regularly (I say regularly as maybe we did get caught out on occasion) and I don't think she ever has. Not a 'look at how green my family is' thing for her it was more to do with she hated the things taking up space and them cutting into her hands. Gran always carried a basket and had trolley for occasional larger shops but she tended to shop daily/every other day as she had a butcher/fishmonger/baker/greengrocer less than 10 mins from her home. I guess that's one example of change not ALWAYS being good but I think resisting change just for the sake of resisting isn't good either.

We know the harm plastic bags do to the environment, the sooner we get rid worldwide the better.

Dad is very interested in this type of thing, he often says of the massive plastic production, the change of attitude from making things last to a throw away society and over consumption from 1950's on that his generation should feel bloody awful for the damage this has done.

Onykahonie · 15/09/2015 21:32

I was wondering what I was going to do with my online shopping, as we get ours delivered in bags and then send the previous week's bags back for recycling. I don't want to pay for bags which I'm going to recycle, but annaiclc2015's idea of IKEA bags should work to unload the shopping into.

I'm in the habit of taking my own bags with me when clothes shopping, so I'll be glad not to get the "Are you sure?" response from shop assistants when I turn down their carrier bags!

Judydreamsofhorses · 16/09/2015 09:08

In Scotland paper bags are charged for as well as plastic. I always carry an overflow tote bag with me - glasses, kindle etc - and use that for bits of shopping, but I generally do end up paying for a separate carrier if I buy clothes because stuffing a brand new dress/blouse/whatever in with groceries doesn't feel great for me, particularly if it's a delicate or light coloured item. (And I learned that lesson with a pair of Falke tights which got snagged even before wearing!) We get weekly/fortnightly grocery deliveries from either Tesco or Sainsbury's without bags - it just means that the driver brings the crates into the kitchen and it's a bit of a scramble to unpack quickly while he or she waits.

aoife24 · 16/09/2015 12:01

It's been in force in Scotland for a while and anecdotally, plastic bag usage has plummeted and people now tend to go equipped as it were. I feel a bit daggy asking for bags now, a bit socially irresponsible!

Loulou000 · 16/09/2015 12:37

I am really cross. I hate carrier bags and never get one in a shop. But I get my weekly shop delivered, in bags, and there's no choice about having them. So how is my paying Tesco 50p going to help anyone? And as so many people have said, if they actually cared, how about looking into making all the plastic shit that every damn thing in the supermarket is wrapped in, illegal?

OurBlanche · 16/09/2015 13:33

how is my paying Tesco 50p going to help anyone? because of where the money raised goes. See the link posted way back upthread, see the Welsh policy and how children's charities, RSPB and litter campaigns have benefitted.

As for further reduction, well, read the waste/recycling policy. Despite what some posters have said, there is a wider change in the offing.

Once you have more information you may become less cross!

RooftopCat · 16/09/2015 14:39

I like the introduction of the charge for various reasons - one being the outrage(!) it has generated.
When the charge was introduced in Scotland the in-laws were not happy. They accepted they'd have to take their own bags to the supermarket but when buying clothes from an expensive shop were annoyed they'd have to put it in "a tatty old Tesco bag". Considering they only shop in Sainsbury's, I find it hard to believe their only option for clothes shopping is a tatty tesco bag! Numpties.

sparechange · 16/09/2015 17:43

How is this going to work with online grocery shopping?
I had an email from Ocado yesterday saying they are going to charge 5p per bag they use, but it is very common for my Ocado delivery to come with several bags containing only one item, so the driver takes them out and puts them into other bags before handing the bags over, and things like bottle water (where the pack has a carry handle) to also come in a bag, but for the delivery driver to take it out of the bag himself to bring it into the house.

I would guess that more than half of the bags that my shopping arrives in don't make it into the house, and the rest get handed back to them the next week.

Are they going to be able to pick a random number of bags to charge me for, and if they take them away, can I demand a refund?

RomComPhooey · 16/09/2015 18:10

Sainsburys charge a flat rate of 40p per delivery here for online shops. That's less than the mileage (going on HMRC rates) to drive to our nearest store so no biggie for us.

FlysInDreams · 16/09/2015 18:13

Tesco will be charging 40p too, as apparently eight is the average number of bags used

Baconyum · 16/09/2015 18:46

Hang on are the online retailers really not going to have to at least make it optional? I don't see why they can't deliver in crates, not have to hang around and you exchange the crates at the next delivery.

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