5p charge for carrier bags starts tomorrow.

[andreaneilcmc]

Is it a good thing?

[Anonymous]

I shop at the Aldi and have always had to pay for my plastic bags, so I just kept them and keep re-using them until they fall apart.

[dark_castle1]

the charge started here in Scotland in 2014 and it seems to have cut the number of bags used dramatically.

[0-anthony-0]

It's unfortunate that humanity in general avoids it's responsibilities to the environment we exist within and needs punitive sanctions to manipulate the way it expresses itself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastisphere

[al**bear]

Just remember to keep your 'Bags for Life' in the boot of your car

Do not pay attention to the Doomsayers, the stupid scenarios

they talk about just don't happen

After about a week, It became a Non-story in Scotland

[******lynda******]

Agree with Al. 

[jd.linklater]

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@andreaneilcmc wrote:

Is it a good thing?

---

Definitely the right way to go, it should have happened years ago. I don't think many people will now pay 5p for a single use bag when you can get a so called bag for life for 10p. Ok I know they don't last a lifetime but you can use them for several months before they fall apart and then you can get them replaced free. Another bonus is that they will be disposed of collectively by the supermarkets rather than being dumped all over the countryside. As Al says it will become a non issue in next to no time.

[vamo48]

It will indeed.  I don't see what the fuss is about anyway -  since I was young proper shopping bags have been widely available and they are not expensive.  Supermarkets sell hessian bags which are much stronger and easier to carry than plastic bags.  I just can't understand why England has got to be different from the rest of the UK and have complicated rules rather than say every shop has to charge. 

[******lynda******]

When I was young, everyone took their own bags, but shoplifting was a serious problem. My Dad made millions as a result. Wish some of that could come my way 😂

You could get big paper carriers with string handles. Anyway, many big shops started banning shopping bags and provided plastic bags at the checkout. Some charged, some were free. Heavy duty bags cost about 30p. Up here, in Scotland, in the late 70s the likes of Woolworths charged 36p for a plastic bag, which I always resented because I was effectively paying for their advertising.

Even now, I have tens of bags, some supermarket, some not, but I will use Asda bags in Waitrose etc.

I just wonder whether the shoplifting issue will grow again, taking us in a circle

[******lynda******]

I also find I don't impulse buy so much, if I don't have enough bags with me, or pop into a shop on my way past as opposed to a planned trip.

[jd.linklater]

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@vamo48 wrote:

It will indeed.  I don't see what the fuss is about anyway -  since I was young proper shopping bags have been widely available and they are not expensive.  Supermarkets sell hessian bags which are much stronger and easier to carry than plastic bags.  I just can't understand why England has got to be different from the rest of the UK and have complicated rules rather than say every shop has to charge. 

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I agree, it's maddening the way we have to overcomplicate everything here. As far as I'm aware the changes have been made across the board in Scotland, Wales and N.Ireland, so even small shopkeepers have to abide by the same rules. Here there are endless exceptions to deal with, all so unnecessary.

[evoman3957]

Sticking a plastic bag over your head, used to be the cheapest way of ending it all; now it will cost 5p.......OUTRAGEOUS !!

( and it will probably put a lot of gangsters out of business )

[dark_castle1]

Not only that evo ! the bags are such poor quality you could likely breath through them and it would take you years to snuff it.  

[tommy.irene]

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@******lynda****** wrote:
When I was young, everyone took their own bags, but shoplifting was a serious problem. My Dad made millions as a result. Wish some of that could come my way 😂

You could get big paper carriers with string handles. Anyway, many big shops started banning shopping bags and provided plastic bags at the checkout. Some charged, some were free. Heavy duty bags cost about 30p. Up here, in Scotland, in the late 70s the likes of Woolworths charged 36p for a plastic bag, which I always resented because I was effectively paying for their advertising.

Even now, I have tens of bags, some supermarket, some not, but I will use Asda bags in Waitrose etc.

I just wonder whether the shoplifting issue will grow again, taking us in a circle

---

... How much did your Dad make when he was shoplifting...Ha.Ha

[fallen-archie]

A cheap plastic bag to end it all would be so dull. To use a bag for life would be ironic. So if there is a bag involved in my demise it better be a fit one.

[******lynda******]

😂

[suzieseaside]

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@fallen-archie wrote:

A cheap plastic bag to end it all would be so dull. To use a bag for life would be ironic. So if there is a bag involved in my demise it better be a fit one.

---

  She certainly is fit

Not so bad yerself

Back to plastic bags - yes it's a good idea to reduce their use and about time. It won't take long before people get into the habit of taking a bag out with them.  Mind you I put a couple in the car today and then left them in the back in the car park - duh.

[margaret*e]

Remembering is the problem.

If I remember toput them in the car I often forget to take them in the shop.

[upthecreekyetagain]

If the problem is that 'free' bags are made of plastic, (which seems reasonable), then why are paper bags with handles also banned in Scotland yet the purchase and the use of 'bags for life', (made of more substantial plastic and non-biodegradable), are encouraged?

Travel on the Underground or any commuter train at the end of the day and you will see many workers returning home with their shopping - we always have bags in the boot of the car but it's hardly practical to expect those who commute by other means to take bags to work with them 'just in case' they need them.  Paper bags would seem the ideal solution, both recyclable and biodegradable.

[tommy.irene]

I looked in the cupboard under the sink and have £500 in 5p plastic bags