20p for a plastic bag

[greenorelse]

Aah...bin liners! Well, seeing as the contents of our bin goes on the compost heap, we can't use plastic bags as bin liners...

What I do, though, is use a one sheet from a broadsheet newspaper, suitably folded to line the bottom and sides of the bin. It stops the inside of the bin getting too gungy and makes it easier to clean.

[JessieMac]

I take collapsible boxes when I do my main shop and transfer anything in plastic bags or containers into cotten bags I made and leave the wrapping fot the shops to dispose of,and I also carry some cotten bags with handles in my bag for impulse buys. I feel if the shops were left with great piles of wrapping every day they would soon change their ways.
We recycle our glass and cans,make our paper waste into bricks for the fire and food waste into the compost bin, being a veggi household helps with this though and we are now down to putting our bin out twice a year and are aiming for once.
Anything that can be done to cut down on plastic is ok with me.

[Zech]

I get a bit annoyed when they see I have no bags and they ask whether I would like some, I have now taken to answering " well I won't have any, but only if you can put a levatating spell on all my groceries"

Please don't get too annoyed with them when they ask - they're giving you the choice instead of making the decision for you. When they ask me, sometimes the answer's yes, because I haven't brought any bags with me, and sometimes the answer's no, because I have bags, but haven't yet got them out of my pockets, or because I've only bought a few items and I can carry them easily enough without a bag. They don't know any of this before they ask!

[chickenchargrill]

Or some folk reload straight into the trolley and go back to the car.

[RuthG]

Or some folk reload straight into the trolley and go back to the car.

I have been trying this one - boxes at the ready in the car. Dont always succeed though, as the boxes get carried into the house, then they dont always make it back to the car before I go out the next time .

[wildbee]

I know it's still a waste of resources when people could bring their own reusable bags/boxes but why don't shops switch to paper grocery bags? Seems to work in America, or is that just in films?

[giz]

i still get Plastic bags.. But like many here.. i use them till they are beyonb use.. i use them as poo bags/packing/storage soo many uses, i say poo bags(i have 9 dogs, so why use 9 dogg poo bags, When 1 plastic one will do it.. )
again i dont Line my bins with bags.. so long as you wash it out it shoul be fine??

[chickenchargrill]

Wildbee - It's something to do with transporting - plastic takes up less room and I think they're cheaper. Plus the Recycling plants buy the plastic bags people put in the recycling points at supermarkets. Add to that customers buying the bags...

[RuthG]

So, as usual, it's all down to money!

[boboff]

No It's about being able to make a literate point without using silly faces!

God I hate those stupid tuting faces with a passion, Not you Ruth, sorry, but why is it appropriate to use them in posts?

We are discussing a pretty overly simplified topic as what you buy when you shop, is So So SO So much more important than what you pack it in, what you consume, how you consume, and what you can afford, all this I can be relaxed about, we all try our hardest to do what ever we can, and in the main, try not to gloat in some " I am greener than you competition" But please leave the smiley emotion things alone!

I am going to write to the Daily Mail and tell them use of smiley and tutting faces is linked to Immigrants, and Health and Safety gone mad, and My Gran was ace and she never used smiley faces, and then they will launch a tirade of well written articles on why it's not right to use them, boy then you will be sorry, that will learn you!

[RuthG]

Charmed, I'm sure. I like them and choose to use them to express myself. I will continue to do so where and when I see fit.

Now can we get back to the topic please?

[happyhippy]

I think its a good move myself!We've been using our own for years,way before it became "fashionable"I always used to find it amusing in the early days of when we'd head for the supermarket armed with large plastic tubs,and bags,and the look of horror on the checkout staffs faces!

[JulieSherris]

Load of rubbish!

My old Nan used to have her shopping bags. She had a brown leather one for everyday trips, a string one for veg, which lived in the side pocket of the leather one. She had a couple of canvas bags & a wicker basket. She never bagged her fruit & veg, unless the spuds were particularly muddy & soft fruits & smaller items were put into paper bags hung on nails by the strings - remember those?

Anyway, as others have said, the plastic bags here carry a government levy of 22c a bag (at least I think that's how much they are)
It soon becomes 2nd nature to take your bags out with you. I keep my bag on the back of the door & a couple more bags shoved inside. To help me remember, I usually keep my purse or car keys in there - easy way to remember

After being over here for 4 years, all I can say is, It Works!!

The shock I felt in February when I went over to the UK & did the Manchester to Blackpool train ride - oh, the rubbish - oh, bags EVERYWHERE! On the 40 minute drive home back in Ireland, it was such a stark difference that I actually counted the 'litter' ..... 3 pieces.

If you don't have bags, the shops mostly have paper bags anyway. Plastic packaging can either be put in the recycling, or yep, used for seed trays, screw & nail pots, polly pocket containers.. etc etc!

As an aside, I was about to congratulate Boboff for his Admin Promotion - my mistake, there's obviously some sort of need for a smilie cop on the forum??
Sometimes it's nicer to read a post interspersed with smilies as it gives you the tone of the comment. A lot of comments that are plain text can quite often be misconstrued without as well, and I've seen instances of this escalate with catastrophic outcomes.
Back in 1997, a lad that I knew personally left home & went on the run - after 8 months, he finally committed suicide. And it all started because he answered a comment in a chat room with a touch of sarcasm & it was taken the wrong way & thereafter into the 'real world'. (By a notorious lady associated with MP's & whips - I say no more)

So from a personal stance, I'm glad the smilies are there at the side for all of us to use!

[Susie]

Ages ago a nice person who read my blog sent me a Morsbag, I think it was made out of an old duvet or something and it is brilliant, I have used it to death (it now has holes in and must be mended). There is a pattern somewhere on their site, I keep meaning to go and get some duvets and make a batch up to supplement our slightly motley collection of cloth bags as they are a really good shape.

Unfortunately their site now appears to have David Cameron grinning on the front but don't let that put you off. Also the name sounds like 'death bag' to me because of the Mors bit, apart from those caveats they are great.

I am fine with smilies as long as they are not passive-aggressive, I used to know someone who was master of the passive-aggressive smiley. Strangely if you send people emails filled with mean-spiritedness and slagging off of everyone you know and then put a happy face at the end it doesn't make them think the email is funny or you are a nice person. Feel free to ignore my personal issues. .

[greenorelse]

We are discussing a pretty overly simplified topic as what you buy when you shop, is So So SO So much more important than what you pack it in,

This is true - and well done for raising the point - but packaging generally (and the topic subject specifically) still merits examination and action; feel free to start a new thread on it.

Besides, the wiser your general shopping decisions, the more important packaging issues become.