To find it mildly annoying that 5p bags are disappearing?

[sharkirasharkira]

Just that really.

I don't have an issue with the bag charge, I think it's good to encourage people to use them less.

I don't take plastic bags to the supermarket because I have a backpack that I use but sometimes I like to buy a few because they do come in handy for 'stuff' like lining small bathroom bins, separating wet swimming stuff, things like that.

But virtually every supermarket around here doesn't seem to have them anymore! They have replaced them all with massive, thick 10p bag for life types which are not so good for certain tasks.

Aibu to wish they would just keep both types so we can choose?

Bibesia what I sort of meant is that while the amount of 'single use' bags has gone down it seems (from general observation) that people are just buying the 10p/50p/£1 bags instead but then dumping those a week later and buying more 10p/50p/£1 bags.

And why on earth aren't paper bags or sacks (made from recycled paper) an option in UK supermarkets?
They can be reused too -- very handy at home for things like wrapping food waste like bones before putting in the food bin.

I empty the small bins into the big bin and leave the bag lining it, unless it gets a hole or something and needs to be replaced

So why use a bag at all?

Just in case anything wet or dirty goes into it to stop it making a mess of the bin, in which case I would replace the whole bag!

The free bags were ideal for bin liners, emptying cat litter and so on, but as I've only just got to the end of my stash I can accept that there were too many of them about. I hate having to buy new ones to use once rather than re-using ones I'd already got.

I suspect the replacement of 5p bags with 10p+ ones is so that the money goes into the supermarkets' profits rather than to the "good causes" they were meant to support.

Wash the bin instead?

I can honestly say that where I am in Scotland the vast majority of people have heavy duty shopping bags, the hessian ones or the type you see in sports direct which last for years. These are kept in the boot of the car and everyone has small fold up nylon bags which are tiny when folded and can go in a pocket or bag. These are used for small shops of just a couple of things. It really is very rare to see someone putting their entire shop in bags they have just bought at the supermarket checkouts. The odd time if you have bought too much and need an extra bag then the only option is the bag for life at 10p. It really does not seem to be a problem here.

What I don't get is this: the 5p bags used to be biodegradable (at least tescos ones) - I know gor a fact because after a year or so they disintegrated into dust.

There is NO SUCH THING as "bio"degradable plastic! Just because it breaks up into bits it doesn't go away and the small bits enter the environment at a base level and do even more insidious and long-term damage. This includes so called biodegradable balloons. It's all utter greenwash aka cynical corporate bullshit.

There are materials with similar properties made of corn starch etc which are actually biodegradable.

We have the biodegradable ones with that kind of skin-like feeling here (like the ones you get to line the food caddy) - they're actually better than the old plastic ones because they have a bit of stretch, but then I can still use them for all the stuff I used the plastic ones for - plus lining the food caddy.

I don't like the 'bag for life' style ones at all - they're not a good size, I find them uncomfortable to carry, a pain to store etc. Give me classic carrier bag shape in this new biodegradable stuff any day.

OP, I tend reuse the poly bags that come with online shopping etc. I’ve just done a sale shop from Asos and every item of clothing was wrapped in a poly bag. I also re use the large pack of toilet roll plastic wrapping.

I have a drawer that I keep all plastic packaging that can be reused.

Disturbingly yes those pale green ones?

About time our local authority started a food collection service. People here are so stuck in their ways though - it's hard enough to convince them to recycle. They tend to squeal about rats and gulls when people mention waste food collection. Won't have compost heaps for the same reason.

I’ve just done a sale shop from Asos and every item of clothing was wrapped in a poly bag.

Why do companies do this? Esprit are just as bad.

Well surely the 10p bags use more plastic than the thin 5p bags. It's the manufacturers who must take the blame for the overuse of plastic.

I have to say that none of my local shops even charge for the carrier bags anyway, they still give them out for free like before.

We haven’t had plastic bags in shops for years in Ireland. Tesco etc don’t have classic plastic bags. The few shops that still have them
Charge 22c. Irish people thought the world would end when they started charging but it’s been over ten years and no-one has batted an eyelid. You just need to get into the habit of using decent reusable ones.

I used to live in Europe, I really don't understand why they don't ban plastic bags altogether. Instead we could have cellulose or cassava "plastic" bags instead. Look and feel the same, do everything a plastic carrier can do but fully biodegradable.

Paper bags - like primark - are all well and good for hot, dry countries/areas, not much bloody use here in west Scotland where it rains heavily most of the year!

I remember my mum still mostly using cardboard boxes that the supermarkets would place on shelving across from the tills in the 80's and 90's. Annoying they stopped doing this. Better to get at least one more use out of them before recycling.

And actually carrier bags are the least of it certainly supermarket wise. The amount of packing on products is ludicrous.

We also had a fireplace until mid-80's which as pp said meant some rubbish could be used as fuel.

"Biodegradable bags are still harmful. The plastic has to go somewhere." Erm biodegradable bags AREN'T plastic - that's kinda the point.

Have to admit due to my OCD I do request carrier bags but I reuse as much/many times as possible and return to sainsbury's for recycling too.

When I am going out and about I use fabric reusable bags (hessian etc) and my rucksack for heavier items.

When I had a car, as a result of living in Europe where this was the norm at the time, I used those collapsible crates which just stayed in the car. Did the shopping, shopping went through till and straight back unbagged into trolley and then at the car emptied the shopping from the trolley into the crates. Not sure I'd cope with those now though as my backs buggered!

That it's still prohibitively expensive to buy biodegradable bin bags yet most councils insist the rubbish is bagged before going in the bin (plus if like me your 4 bloody flights up in a flat you need a way to carry the rubbish down) and some won't even let you use the biodegradable bags I think is another big issue.

Graphista
www.theguardian.com/environment/cif-green/2009/jun/18/greenwash-biodegradeable-plastic-bags

Do people still have string bags? My mother used to when I was a child.

I've got one but I don't use it because things fall through it.

Thanks Mike, but I'm not meaning polyethylene bags but replacing for want of a better term 'real' plastic bags with bags that look, feel and act like plastic but are made from actually biodegradable plant materials.

Crochet string bag patterns are very popular. e.g. www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/string-market-bag-2

The one I have won't go over my shoulder. If I made my own I could customise it. Sadly, I can't crochet.

We use either corn starch (food waste) bags or paper bags in the bathroom.

We use black sacks for the main bin, and the council issues (probably plastic) pink ones for recycling.

Even starch bags are environmentally dubious, they only biodegrade at high rate in special composting facilities, not landfill. They're also weaker and have limited shelf life so way more are made, and often go to waste unused, leading to more plastic in environment and more pollution from manufacturing energy. Plus when there offered recycling and reusing rated decrease as people wrongly think their not harmful.

Agree with the OP that they make useful bin liners.