I was horrified

We have plastic boxes in the boot of the car, and pack from trolley. I also have cotton bag from £ shop in my handbag for any purchase's when we are out and about. If we do have to use plastic bags I take them to Saintsbury's for recycling.

Northern Ireland was the first in UK to charge for plastic bags. Here the assumption is that you have your own bags and you have to ask for them if you don't. Most people carry their own bags with them as a matter of course. I have just come back from England and was shocked at how freely they were being supplied in supermarkets. I had to stop the checkout person from giving them to me automatically. She wasn't a bit pleased

When we visited Rwanda a few years ago our friend there was shocked we had brought gifts in plastic bags, they are banned there. Apparently if you're found with them at the airport they will be confiscated. We have a lot to learn in our "developed" western world, where I'm constantly shocked by the amount of throw away plastic I see lying around

I remember when I was about 17 it was all the rage to go to work in Manchester with one of those gondola baskets as well as a handbag. I used to take my wooden Scholl sandals in it!

In Ireland all bags provided by shops are usually paper ones.

It really annoys me when in supermarkets when people try and shove a months worth of groceries into dozens of plastic carrier bags. I feel like asking them why don't you bring your own. It's so thoughtless and unnecessary. I bring two large and two small bags every week to put my shopping into. I think the majority of people who don't bother are morons.

In Scotland the shops are supposed to give the money to charity but there's no law to say they have to or any checks to see that they do. Must rush - just off to buy more huge rolls of bin liners. Can't use recycled plastic carriers any more. "Good own goal greenies" as I read in the paper this morning.

Who gets the money? is it the shop or the government because it is a "tax"?
if it is Govt. I hope it is used wisely - like on cihld projects or something like that, not dropped into the big black hole!

www.facebook.com/laralovecow

i posted this before but for those who want to crochet....

We seem to always be behind the Scots in a lot of things. Smoking bans plastic bags and I think new drink pricing laws. They seem a bit more courageous than we are with these reforms.

I usually take my stash of long life polypropalene bags with me when I go shopping as I generally store them in the back of the car.

I crocheted myself a shopping bag. It is made of a sunshine yellow wool. Every time I use it, it is complimented. I remember having to take my mother's shopping bag with me when she sent me to the local grocer when I was a child.

Co-op charge for bags. Our local store is 2 mins walk and I always take bags but DH never does..."it's ONLY 5p" is his reason.

This one describes the process a bit better. Can't wait to try- but I haven't got any plastic bags .... will have to wait until I get to UK to DD1- she does all her shopping via Okado/Waitrose- and has 100s - and the colour will be perfect. She can't use the box, no bag system due to risk of contamination with egg or nuts because of GS very severe allergy.

youtu.be/pAYD-TZYdtE

m.youtube.com/watch?v=c_zpbfBmnTw
This shows you how to crochet a sturdy bag from plastic charity bags. A friend of mine did this very successfully. There are also instructions for knitting as well

On lunchtime BBC News - 8.3 BILLION bags used in the UK last year....that is appalling and disgraceful IMO. The vast majority of these end up in landfills.

The sooner charges are implemented the better.

And let's not forget that in Wales there's been a 5p plastic bag charge since October 2011!

40 years ago when first married, plastic bags were not used in supermarkets and you automatically took your own bags. I too have got used again to carrying a squashed up bag in my bag, but cannot count the times I get to the check out in the supermarket and like grannydougs realise that I have left all my shopping bags in the car! I do miss having plastic carriers to line the waste paper baskets in the bedrooms. I don't much like shopping for clothes and having to stuff them in my own bag. I rather wonder what state returned goods are in when you see the bags used by other shoppers , but it is a good move and I hope it is soon introduced South of the Border.

Well done the Scots! They were aye a canny race.

"Making people in Scotland pay for carrier bags reduced their use by 147 million last year.

The drop came despite the 5p charge for single-use bags only being in place for the last 11 weeks of 2014.

It follows statistics released three months ago which suggested the number of carrier bags being used by shoppers had fallen by 90%.

Figures from environmental group Wrap covered the 2014 calendar year in the UK from seven major grocery retailers.

In Scotland, in the final quarter of the year after the 5p charge was introduced, bag usage dropped by 129 million compared with the previous year."

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-33644662

You'd be surprised who reads GN. After a blog I wrote (for GN) I was approached by a national newspaper asking for an interview. I declined of course.

This question is being featured on BBC Breakfast this morning. Does the beeb read GN forums?

5p charge for bags in Northern Ireland, even in clothes shops. You get used to carrying bags in the boot of the car. Problem is remembering to take them into the shop with you!
I've spend many a wet day, packing my groceries straight from the trolley into these bags, in the middle of the car park, rather than buy more!

A few years ago charity shops reused plastic carriers brought in by customers, now far too many charities provide their own thick plastic bags showing their name and logo. They often have a message saying 'please fill me with donations and bring me back' but I doubt that many customers do.
By ceasing to use plastic carriers charity shops would save money and perhaps again reuse supermarket bags brought in by customers. I guess some trustees consider their image more important than the environment!

I counted the number of charity bags that had accumulated on the table near the front door - eight at the last count. I will be using them when I go round the house collecting the stuff from various bins and baskets for the recycling bin. The bag will be recycled too. I also use them to take things to the charity shops, turning them inside out so that the logos of the charities that left them will not show.

Thanks for that idea Elegran, I had always put those charity bags straight in the recycling, never thought of using them as bin liners. The only problem is that they are the wrong colour for our Council refuse collection so they would have to be put in another bag anyway - defeating the object.