M&S are to charge 5p per carrier bag

[jenk1]

here

It would be better if they went back to keeping their old boxes after putting stuff on the shelves and putting the boxes behind or under the tills so that we could use them for packing

Then those who forgot their bags could pack in the boxes

{obviously not the bleach boxes etc.}

Now supermarkets just squash the boxes and throw them away

BTW the TESCO plastic bags do disintergrate after a short while ie 6 months COS we reuse them in the house and after a few months the bag has disolved into lots and lots of tiny bits of plastic and so whatever was stored in them is then not stored iyswim

Yes! to the boxes. I remember when they were all left in front of the shop for us to use.

I'd love to be able to use the old boxes in shops to take stuff home like we used to, hopefully this is something supermarkets would respond to if we keep asking for them.

I always take my own bags when I shop, and try and use any carrier bags I have for packed lunches, taking stuff to charity shops etc, but still I cant get rid of them , it will be great when they are no longer manufactured, which will come eventually.

I wish all supermarkets would charge for bags - they used to, in the mid-eighties, tescos et all would charge 1p for each bag. They stpped becasue people complained.

Waitrose it the worst or bags, they give you a bag and pack your stuff before I've even got the chopping onthe belt.

I know it's being helpful but I don't want to have to say every time 'no don't do that I've got my own bag'. They should be asking me.

Good idea - it would make me remember my shopping bags instead of leaving them in the cupboard!!!!

not sure what i think about this, i tend to re-use bags alot and sort of think there are more important things to worry about

They have been doing this in Norway for the last 15 years. Sooner or later people will just think that the price is part of the service, 5 p is really not that much, and everybody can afford it, so the long term view, it wont work.

Well, some things are more important than this, but lots of things are less important too.

charging seems a bit lame though, why don't they just ban them altogether, people will think nothing of paying 5p, but faced with no bags would be forced to always carry a one of their own.

Yes, agree. Untill a few weeks ago I was using and using even tho I felt bad about it. I think they should be banned.

I also don't like getting my bags packed for same reason - plus they alwyas seem to put only two, maximum three items in a bag and then deem it to be "full"

m + s charged for bags about 20 years ago, you did get a free one if you spent over 10.00, they were 2p, most people had shopping bags or trolleys than.
somethinf now needs to be done about the 2 mile deep floating condom islind, think it was in the Pacific last time i heard.

In Days of Yore, all supermarkets charged for carrier bags, though I forget how much - one groat, maybe?

I've been a very good girl for ages now and use the sturdy bags Sainsbury's, M&S & Tesco sell. Not the bags for life, they annoy me, but proper bags. Trouble is, I can't resist a new design and just have to buy the latest. I was v disappointed at Xmas that I failed to get an M&S reusable with flashing lights. I also have Baby Milk Action 'Boycott Nestle' bags and string bags and canvas bags - oh no, I've become a bag lady!

BTW, shops no longer have boxes available because it's a fire hazard to store them inside a shop.

fire hazard, health and safety hazard etc. all m&s boxes are recycled, as are hangers.

suedonim - back in 1987 our Sainsbury's would give you free bags if you spent more than £20 - less than that and you were charged 10p each I seem to remember.

It's a good idea in theory but is just a publicity stunt on M&S's part.

Shopping bags are just the tip of the iceberg.

After all, they are the supermarket with the second-highest weight of packaging and the highest proportion of non-recyclable packaging in a standard weekly shopping basket in the UK, according to a government survey.

Callisto either you work for M&S or their dubious publicity campeigns have been well worth the financial investment!

They are most certainly not the most ethical supermarket, not by a long-shot. The co-op for one is far more ethical.

Their number one priority, like any other business, is maximising profits. They are jumping on the green bandwagon because it wins them customers. They wouldn't if it wasn't so important to their customers.

I lived in a Sainsbury's-free zone in 1987 (I just typed '1897', haha!). We lived in a Tesco-town then but that year heralded the arrival of Asda and Safeways to spice up the shopping experience.

This thread has got me thinking. I now agree that 5p is perhaps not really enough to really change (long term) people's habits. 10p or even 20p might be better to really motivate people to remember.

But perhaps M7S don't want to go that far until all the other supermarkets are also charging similar amounts.

I am disappointed that the governemnt didn't have the courage to follow the Irish example.

M & S are very bad for packaging. I'm glad they will be charging for plastic bags, but they would have to go a lot further than that to be considered in any way "ethical" or "environmental".

This woman is my plastic bag heroine.

We in the Republic of Ireland are more than happy to pay for our plastic use since 2002- and other countries have followed suit - Singapore, Bangladesh and South Africa - I would rather pay now than for my DD or anyone elses' child to have to pay later for land-fill noxiousness.
Check out the legislation PR and explanation for it here Plastic Bag Levy in Ireland

The price of a placcky bag has gone up to 22 cent in the Republic of Ireland, and everyone here has a bag for life tucked away on their person (or a granny trolley!!) Lighter plastic bags (like those on a roll) for cold or fresh food are still free - but in the main people don't use these.

The incidence of litter has really dropped here - Ireland used to call plackky bags in the trees and bushes, "witches' knickers" South Africans used to call their placcky bag pollution the "national flower"! what do you call yours

It's just a question of putting your money where your environmental mouth is.

The amount of revenue gathered in this 'plastax' goes towards environmental programmes, which nobody can argue with - you know it makes sense.. bbc news report

We got a shock when we were in South Africa a few years ago stocking up on provisions while en route to my aunt. Obvisouly we were unprepared, so had to pay for the plastic bags - but didn't mind at all.

We were impressed that SOuth Africa had had the gumption to do it, while the UK Government can't get its arse in gear.

Thin black bags and water bags are a nightmare here in Nigeria. They are everywhere you look, all over the place, blocking drains, up trees. In poor areas it looks like this. People I've come across are not environmentally aware so it's been impossible to explain my concerns and why I want to use my own bags.

'there are a lot more important things to worry about' - well maybe that's true, but this is something so easy to do, a way in which we can all help, that it seems very churlish not to do it.