I don't know how many people on this forum will be aware of this or not.
Some years ago, there was a huge problem here with over use of plastic shopping bags. A surcharge tax was brought in to promote awareness of this as well as promoting the reduction of the plastic shopping bag. The tax was, if I recall correctly, 15p per bag, charged at the check out.
Before this was introduced, however, all the large supermarket chains began introducing reusable shopping bags and clothes and shop retailers also increased the use of paper bags.
A lot of people were sceptical that this would make a difference. They were proved wrong. Virtually overnight, the plastic shopping bag has almost disappeared from sight. Very rarely do I see anyone using them in a supermarket, or even in smaller shops i.e. chemists, etc. All the retailers use paper instead and the public embraced this and bring their shopping bags with them.
I personally didn't need any encouragement as I had been using various reusable shopping bags for some years.
I'm just curious though, would this work in the U.K. and why isn't it being done??
The real answer for me, as a keen "greenie", is to reduce what you bring into your environment, reuse as much as possible and recycle as a last resort.
The plastic bag levy is the best thing that happened over here in a long time!! I can't understand why other countries aren't willing or able to bring it in. They don't see it as a priority???? To me recycling is very important and I've being doing it for years too.
I'm liking Dumped, if not just to see the 'social' experiment but I'm also learning bits and pieces from it.
______________________ 142 Official Rex Fan Club Member "Tyrannosaurus Rex - He's no dinosaur but I'd jump his bones" :
Originally posted by robo_mak: it would work if it does for others , no reason not to .
and you may notice like in primark for instance , england is already changing to paper slowly .
But isn't that part of the problem .....time is of the essence, and taking things slowly isn't really an option anymore, I don't think.
Doing what was done here is one of the easiest, quickest and possibly the most effective way of not just making the public aware of the overuse of plastic bags,but effecting a radical change in behaviour at the same time.
Originally posted by robo_mak: it would work if it does for others , no reason not to .
and you may notice like in primark for instance , england is already changing to paper slowly .
Oh my giddy aunt! Robo_mak, I do believe that I know you! but I'm honestly not stalking you, ok. It's just a coincidence that I am here too.
Anyway, speaking of paper bags, I remember when rubbish sacks were heavy paper, double lined and stiched at the bottom. There was a lot on concern over the change to plastic bags that they would take too long to degrade. In some areas even the paper bags weren't used and rubish went directly into the bin which got physically tipped out into the dustcart/dustbin lorry. Also Bread used to come in waxed paper instead of plastic bags. When that change-over happened it was spoke about widely on the news for about a week with the same environmental concerns.
I believe the people here should be forced into not using plastic carrier bags. I make my own bags from old clothes, scraps of fabric etc. They are much admired by everyone as I applique, fabric paint, add feathers, sequins etc.In fact people like them so much that I make them and give them away as presents to friends. I was talking to someone who was admiring one of my antique green velvet bags (from a set of partly moth eaten and faded Victorian curtains) who said that she has to use plastic bags because she would never remember to put the bags back into the car when she had emptied them. To me, that is like saying that she would forget to put clothes on in the morning and might go out naked.In other words, a silly excuse.I suppose at first you might forget but if you had the frame of mind that no way will you take a carrier bag, then the first time you forget your shopping bags and have to put the shopping loose into the back of your car, you would make sure you remembered next time. I don't even have to think about it now as it is a routine. Come home, carry the bags of shopping into the house, put shopping away and either put the bags back into the car or hang on the back door handle for when I next go out. I have shown several young teenagers how I make my bags, made suggestions how they could decorate a bag they had made and am working on getting people enthused about taking out a shopping bag like my mother did in the 1960's. Plastic carrier bags are a realively nerw thing. Even the so called 'biodegradeable' ones are a con, aimed at making people feel they are doing their bit when in reality, they are all made from petro chemicals and all cost the earth, unlike my home made, washable bags made from old curtains, worn out towels, shrunken sweaters, ripped and worn clothes etc. If carrier bags cost £5 each, I bet people would remember to put shopping bags into the car for their next shopping trip then!
If people are quite happy to bin their mobile phone (worth £100) in favour of the latest model, I don't think they will care two hoots about plastic bags if they cost £5. They'd just chuck it anyway and moan at the government about the plastic bag tax!
I think the Irish Republic has a very good scheme charging for plastic bags and it has worked. I am from Northern Ireland and visit the Republic regularly but I always get caught out. I forget to bring my big M&S shopper with me and end up having to buy a plastic bag. Luckily enough, we have an excellent recycling centre near us so we bring all our plastic bags there.
I wish they would just ban the use of these terrible plastic bags full stop! We don't need them. They are thrown out of cars, they hang from the roadside trees and bushes, waste ground is strewn with them, they float in the seas and waterways, they are simply a blot on the landscape. I never use them. We always take our own shopping bags to the supermarket. I have always done this. Whenever I leave the house I have a string bag in my tote bag in case I do some unexpected shopping. The shops should either sell strong paper carrier bags like they did many years ago or have a pile of cardboard boxes for use by the customers. My local supermarket used to do provide cardboard boxes a few years ago, I don't know why they stopped.
I work for one of the major supermarkets and we have had a number of days set aside where the traditional crappy bags are not available. Instead we give out free the reusable ones, as many as required obviously with the aim that then everyone has a reuseable bag and will keep using it. All I seem to here from people is them questioning what they are going to use as a bin liner at home or to pick up the dogs mess etc. They seem to think that these are acceptable uses for the bags and that they are doing their bit by reusing them even if it is in this way. We need to just stop giving them out at all.
Our council provides free bin liners (although not biodegradable ones, unfortunately), and surely newspaper is just as good at clearing up dog mess, although it's probably better for the environment not to keep a dog at all...
Originally posted by bababe: I work for one of the major supermarkets and we have had a number of days set aside where the traditional crappy bags are not available. Instead we give out free the reusable ones, as many as required obviously with the aim that then everyone has a reuseable bag and will keep using it. All I seem to here from people is them questioning what they are going to use as a bin liner at home or to pick up the dogs mess etc. They seem to think that these are acceptable uses for the bags and that they are doing their bit by reusing them even if it is in this way. We need to just stop giving them out at all.
Very interesting, and good for the supermarket! That is so refreshing to here from a supermarket person.
I do use a replaceable re-usable plastic carrier bag and occasionally i end up with a free disposable carrier bag. I have one waste paper bin with carrier bag in it, it's been in there for a year!
I mean any yukky stuff should go in the kitchen waste bin not in a small 'paper' waste bin. Also you can buy biodegradable bags that might be suitable for small waste bins.
I don't use bin liners full stop. I am old and I can recall the days of no plastic bags or bin liners. I wash my rubbish bins out each time I empty them.
Originally posted by bababe: I work for one of the major supermarkets and we have had a number of days set aside where the traditional crappy bags are not available. Instead we give out free the reusable ones, as many as required obviously with the aim that then everyone has a reuseable bag and will keep using it. All I seem to here from people is them questioning what they are going to use as a bin liner at home or to pick up the dogs mess etc. They seem to think that these are acceptable uses for the bags and that they are doing their bit by reusing them even if it is in this way. We need to just stop giving them out at all.
Very interesting, and good for the supermarket! That is so refreshing to here from a supermarket person.
I do use a replaceable re-usable plastic carrier bag and occasionally i end up with a free disposable carrier bag. I have one waste paper bin with carrier bag in it, it's been in there for a year!
I mean any yukky stuff should go in the kitchen waste bin not in a small 'paper' waste bin. Also you can buy biodegradable bags that might be suitable for small waste bins.
I should also add that we have a large box in store for customers to deposit their old plastic bags in. These are then sent to be recycled. I do however still feel that we should all stop giving out the free plastic bags. Many European countries already no longer give bags out free and anyone who visits Aldi or Lidl will already be aware that plastic bags are not provided free by those stores, as they are German based companies and it is not their policy to provide free bags.
we don't use plastic bags when we shop,we just put everything back in the trolley then get to the van were there are cardboard boxes and load the items in there,it's also mucho easier to put them away in the kitchen from boxes
Originally posted by Clootie Dumpling: I wish they would just ban the use of these terrible plastic bags full stop! We don't need them. They are thrown out of cars, they hang from the roadside trees and bushes, waste ground is strewn with them, they float in the seas and waterways, they are simply a blot on the landscape. I never use them. We always take our own shopping bags to the supermarket. I have always done this. Whenever I leave the house I have a string bag in my tote bag in case I do some unexpected shopping. The shops should either sell strong paper carrier bags like they did many years ago or have a pile of cardboard boxes for use by the customers. My local supermarket used to do provide cardboard boxes a few years ago, I don't know why they stopped.
That's precisely why the government finally acted with the levy. It was obvious the supermarkets weren't going to take the lead on their own....to be honest, the levy was miniscule when compared to an average family's weekly shopping bill, but it was a good tool to focus attention on what was a real blot on the landscape and it urged the supermarkets to take action by providing the reusable bags to its customers.
After all, it isn't rocket science, but is there any chance your Gordon Brown will take some initiative I wonder??
I believe the people here should be forced into not using plastic carrier bags. I make my own bags from old clothes, scraps of fabric etc. They are much admired by everyone as I applique, fabric paint, add feathers, sequins etc.In fact people like them so much that I make them and give them away as presents to friends. I was talking to someone who was admiring one of my antique green velvet bags (from a set of partly moth eaten and faded Victorian curtains) who said that she has to use plastic bags because she would never remember to put the bags back into the car when she had emptied them. To me, that is like saying that she would forget to put clothes on in the morning and might go out naked.In other words, a silly excuse.I suppose at first you might forget but if you had the frame of mind that no way will you take a carrier bag, then the first time you forget your shopping bags and have to put the shopping loose into the back of your car, you would make sure you remembered next time. I don't even have to think about it now as it is a routine. Come home, carry the bags of shopping into the house, put shopping away and either put the bags back into the car or hang on the back door handle for when I next go out. I have shown several young teenagers how I make my bags, made suggestions how they could decorate a bag they had made and am working on getting people enthused about taking out a shopping bag like my mother did in the 1960's. Plastic carrier bags are a realively nerw thing. Even the so called 'biodegradeable' ones are a con, aimed at making people feel they are doing their bit when in reality, they are all made from petro chemicals and all cost the earth, unlike my home made, washable bags made from old curtains, worn out towels, shrunken sweaters, ripped and worn clothes etc. If carrier bags cost £5 each, I bet people would remember to put shopping bags into the car for their next shopping trip then!
I make most of mine out of old denims. I scrounge them off friends/relations and embroider Celtic designs on them. Then of course, those same friends/relations want them back!!!
After all, it isn't rocket science, but is there any chance your Gordon Brown will take some initiative I wonder??[/color]
This is somewhat off-topic but I felt the need to mention it anyway. Back in the earlier days of computing and the internet the subject of Rocket Science came up in my computer club. It was asked what do Rocket Scientists say when they want to say "It's hardly rocket science is it". Well, someone sent NASA an e-mail to ask them and the answer quickly came back as "process engineering", whatever that is supposed to be. Ever since then I have always substituted "Process Engineering" for the "Rocket Science" phrase. Just thought I'd mention it.
Originally posted by Lucibee: If people are quite happy to bin their mobile phone (worth £100) in favour of the latest model, I don't think they will care two hoots about plastic bags if they cost £5. They'd just chuck it anyway and moan at the government about the plastic bag tax!
you are incorrect , mobile phones are FREE on contract , if your phone was free then you would stand to loose noting by chucking it when your contract changes .
the rate we use plastic bags , if they cost £5 they'd be a heavy bill on shopping . and they would care as tehy acctuallly paid for it .
Originally posted by Clootie Dumpling: I don't use bin liners full stop. I am old and I can recall the days of no plastic bags or bin liners. I wash my rubbish bins out each time I empty them.
i know someone who doesnt use bin liners , they just chuck everything in the black bin , and then the bin en didnt come for a month or something a while back , i cant remember why , and they couldnt get the stuff to the tip easily .
Originally posted by Clootie Dumpling: I wish they would just ban the use of these terrible plastic bags full stop! We don't need them. They are thrown out of cars, they hang from the roadside trees and bushes, waste ground is strewn with them, they float in the seas and waterways, they are simply a blot on the landscape. I never use them. We always take our own shopping bags to the supermarket. I have always done this. Whenever I leave the house I have a string bag in my tote bag in case I do some unexpected shopping. The shops should either sell strong paper carrier bags like they did many years ago or have a pile of cardboard boxes for use by the customers. My local supermarket used to do provide cardboard boxes a few years ago, I don't know why they stopped.
lidl used to have card board boxes once near where i live . and then there was notice that the boxes would be removed so people would have to carry items out themselves . and it works , no one complains , and even if tehy did there is no bag to offer them .
Originally posted by robo_mak: it would work if it does for others , no reason not to .
and you may notice like in primark for instance , england is already changing to paper slowly .
Oh my giddy aunt! Robo_mak, I do believe that I know you! but I'm honestly not stalking you, ok. It's just a coincidence that I am here too.
Anyway, speaking of paper bags, I remember when rubbish sacks were heavy paper, double lined and stiched at the bottom. There was a lot on concern over the change to plastic bags that they would take too long to degrade. In some areas even the paper bags weren't used and rubish went directly into the bin which got physically tipped out into the dustcart/dustbin lorry. Also Bread used to come in waxed paper instead of plastic bags. When that change-over happened it was spoke about widely on the news for about a week with the same environmental concerns.
*nods* . i know you to , which is handy
i remember when asda sold potatoes in big sacks sewed up at the bottom , but now they are small plastic ones and you dont get as many . *and other random facts*
