Supermarket Shopping Bags

[QuietLife]

Charging for plastic shopping bags (compulsory from 2015) and giving the proceeds to environmental charities is all very well. It may reduce consumption but won't end it. Many purchases are impromptu shops when the buyer does not have bags with them. Can anyone explain why shops do not provide the brown paper grocery bags (such as those used in the USA) and charge for those instead?

[mikey4444]

I knew there would be a fuss about this as soon as I saw it in the news yesterday..

We have had a 5p charge in Wales for about 2-3 years now. There were some moans and whinges from a few usual suspects at first, but now most of us now use those marvellous bags-for-life that the supermarkets sell, They are vastly superior and much stronger than the cheap, previously free carrier bags.

So, what's not to like ?

You can do it England...you have nothing to lose but your chains !

[horseshoes]

Couldn't agree more Mikey. My friends and I have all to used to having a bag with us. There are little pack-away bags which fit easily in ones handbag or pocket which deal with any impromptu purchase I keep my marvellous hessian bag-for-life in the car (and remember to put it back after unloading the shopping)! Everyone I know, is used to just having their bags with them! Baskets seem to be more popular too, which is lovely. No problems with the charge at all: England, you'll soon get used to it and embrace it as a good thing.

[youngmafbog]

So how will online shopping work I wonder? They pack it into s plastic bags and you wont have your bag for life??

Plus, most plastic bags I have had lately seem to disintegrate after a few months particularly if left outside. So is it really still la problem?

Dont get me wrong I am all for reducing waste, but surely there is a better way than 5p. Once again the rich wont care and the poor are clobbered.

[ichkeria]

"picture the hold ups as people when asked for the 5p per bag say no and then leave the shopping all piled up."

So someone who's just forked out £100+ for their shopping and forgotten to bring any bags is going to refuse to pay a few pence to bag it up? How likely is that?

"Nothing more than another tax "

Easily avoidable by reusing your bags.

With online shopping, it's put in re-usable plastic containers isn't it, and unpacked by the delivery man?
That's what our friend who delivers for Asda tells me anyway ...

[sp1814]

The 5p charge is like a very small electric shock. Not one to hurt you or cause any lasting damage - just something to irritate you.

After receiving these little shocks a number of times, you'll fall into the habit of avoiding them (by taking a bag to the shops with you).

[EcclesCake]

String bags are the future.....http://www.turtlebags.co.uk/_wsn/pocketstring.html

Mine was described as 'cool' by a 17yr old cashier!

[New Judge]

“I find that I can usually manage to transport 'impromptu' purchases by means of my hands.”

Good for you, jomfl.. Some of us are not quite so clever. A couple of weeks ago I went to the local theatre. Arriving a bit early we went for a stroll round the shopping mall and I saw a nice pair of trousers which I thought I’d buy. Without a bag I would have had to cart the said strides to the theatre over my arm. Bringing a bag with you is not suitable for clothes (who wants to put new clothes in a bag which has contained newspapers, potatoes and tins of baked beans?) This whole idea is ridiculous nonsense. Still, nice to see Mr Clegg is taking decisive action to tackle one of the greatest problems facing the country today. Also nice to see such policies announced at the Annual Conference of a party which, by its own admission, appeals to less than 25% of the electorate.

Oh, and it would be a funny old shop that cost £100 and would fit into one carrier bag !!!

[bednobs]

i dont think they are advocating no bags to be available, just that you have to pay for them NJ. In your scenario, would you really have begrudged 5p?

[Psybbo]

In N.I. bags are available at 5p a time. We use our supermarket bags for life and have done long before this came in. A spur of the moment buy, I would include the purchase of it in the price and later use it for poop scoops

[DaisyNonna]

Wicker baskets may look good but are heavy to carry if filled with shopping. Especially if like so many of us who do not have a car one walks to and from the shops or to the and from the bus stop.
Plastic bags have been getting flimsier and flimsier. Would not trust one with a bottle of Scotch and a bottle of ginger ale.
Have invested in a shopping trolley. Out of the way!!!

[factor-fiction]

Those objectors have got two years to think of away round it. I carry bags in the boot and take a string bag or a rolled up linen bag with me if I'm thinking I may pick something up.
New Judge- if someone is happy paying say £25 for some trousers why is it a problem to pay £25.05 for a bagged pair. Or are you saying you'd walk away empty-handed rather than pay the extra 5p? I suppose you could always try to negotiate that they throw in a free bag or you'll walk away.

[DJHawkes]

if i serve someone at work I ask 'have you brought a bag?' and then if not, offer them a 6p or 10p bag, depending on the size of the purchase(s) and if they kick off and complain, (which probably 2 out of 10 do) I apologise and explain that 'it is a product we sell and a percentage goes to the woodland trust charity, but I understand if you don't want to contribute.' There are signs all over the store advising of the charity and the reason bags are not free. if they don't like it they can lump it and sod off. It's a bit like crackerjack minus the cabbage but tough.

[DJHawkes]

there is one bloke who comes in and buys one item at least once a week, asks for bag, gets told it is 6p, he complains and then leaves the product on the counter. we are not allowed to give away the 6p 12p or 18p carrier bags, they cost a lot of money and the cost is monitored, stores are allocated a quantity and only given another allocation when the sales of the previous delivery have passed a certain level,

[DaisyNonna]

Seems eminently sensible to me.

[ichkeria]

NJ I wasn't saying you'd put it all in one bag - tho' of course if you do bring your own bags you have the further advantage of bringing large ones instead of having to use the small ones which will now be charged for in addition to the stronger ones - and thereby making life easier as well as cheaper.
Can't see the fuss about this to be honest. The bags will still be available (and are often very useful for reuse before going in the recycling) though places like Lidl don't have them at all anyway.

[coccinelle]

In my handbag there is always one of those lightweight foldy up parachute material kind of bag.

[bazwillrun]

"i dont think they are advocating no bags to be available, just that you have to pay for them"

The cost of bags are already costed into a busines, so youre already paying for thems.

Like i said its just another tax

[Tuvok]

If the bags were plain then ok, but why should I pay to advertise the shop?

[DaisyNonna]

Surely the point is not the cost of the bags but the need to reduce the use of plastic? £1 a bag?

[DJHawkes]

the cost of bags is not factored into the business via prices of products on sale, it is classed as a controlable cost and comes out of the budget.