5p on plastic bags

We live quite close to a beautiful river. Once a month during the summer, there is a car boot sale in a field adjacent to the the riverbank. The sellers always have an abundant amount of plastic supermarket bags (usually unused) in which to put the goods that they sell. All it needs is a slight gust of wind and there is a storm of plastic bags blown from the stalls, and ending up either in the river (endangering wildlife), or decorating the riverside trees until the local volunteers have time to go and clear them away.Plastic bags are a hazard, do away with them altogether, and go back to sensible fold away bags.One good thing about the 5p charge though, the carbooters won't be taking a wad full of bags home to use for their stalls, if they have to pay 5p for them.

Yesterday I twice heard a news item that said 'the government hopes that the money for the bags will be donated to charity'. Did I miss-hear?

Also, I understand that it only applies to supermarkets not the corner/small shops who give away those little red/blue stripey things which you see discarded everywhere.

More fluff from the Lib Dems.

I am afraid they are still giving out plastic bags in New Zealand but my daughter takes her own.

When I was in Australia a couple of years ago I got some carrier bags from one of the big stores which are made of cloth. They fold up small like a plastic carrier and I have them in my handbag all the time so I never have to use plastic ones from the supermarket. A number of people have commented on them, they are stronger than the plastic ones and can be washed. I use them most days and they are still as good as when I got them.

It's gone full circle : when I was first married in 1973 I always took my own bags to Tesco for the weekly shop - I don't really remember there being any plastic bags on offer then? Now I keep a number of bags for life in the car at all times in case I am caught out. I can still forget them though and many's the time I have had to rush back to the car from the check out to fetch them! -

I used to scoff at the American food stores which put everything in brown paper bags without handles - women dropping them was often the start of some great film romance! Now, I can see the point.
I think I remember that the very cheap supermarkets, like Kwiksave, did not give plastic bags.
I was caught out a couple of times in France when I went into a DIY store and bought an assortment of items which would not fit into my handbag. Now, I know I will not get a bag so I carry my 'bags for life' into every type of shop.

they won't deeda

Has anyone noticed that organic fruit is usually packed in cardboard trays while other fruit tends to be in polystyrene. Why can't they all be in the cardboard and at least they could be recycled.

When I stand in a queue behind someone picking up more than a dozen plastic bags for their shopping I can't help wondering if they would still take them if they had to pay.

I seem to remember that when the supermarkets started offering bags, plastic or paper, they charged you for them. We only began to get free bags when one supermarket stopped charging for them as a marketing ploy. All the others followed them. It follows that the supermarkets could decided to charge for bags, or even stop offering them at any time, regardless of any government edict.

In France the decision by supermarkets to only offer bags for life at a cost considerably in excess of 5p, was not as a result of a government edict but by popular pressure. It has now spread to other shops. DD and I bought some shoes in France only a few weeks ago and even though DD's shoes did not come in a box there was no offer of a bag, we were just expected to either carry them out as they were or put them in our own bags.

Plastic bags do an enormous amount of damage to animals both terrestrial and in the sea. Animals consume the bags and they either suffocate or become unable to eat because their guts are blocked, other animals put their heads in the bags seeking what is inside and then cannot get their heads out again. One of DS's cats did that when she left a small bag on the kitchen work top and it blew onto the floor. She heard the cat blundering around the kitchen and went and rescued it but had that happened outside, how long would the cat have survived?

I am afraid once I had got over the surprise of being stopped and it was all sorted I found it hilarious and went quite giggy. Spent time trying to put the security man at his ease!

No, it's a fair cop! I must have an honest face - I never get stopped at airports either (well, there was the heinous crime of having an apple in my backpack when I landed at Auckland).

When I was last working at a "proper" job, our boss was a very keen recycler, bins for everything, ie. tea bags, fruit peel cores etc went into a bin for compost, paper was printed on both sides if purely for internal use, cans, plastic bottles put in a separate bin. He also kept a bin for plastic bags, the idea being that if someone was nipping to the supermarket to get some lunch, they could take a bag from the supply.

I used to get quite incensed by a couple of staff members, one of whom was a twenty something young mum who would come back every lunch time with shopping in a new bag.

Would your card receipt detail the purchase! That is what avoided a charge!

I think that the informer may have been a thief trying to distract the security from noticing an accomplice leave with stolen items by saying they had seen someone leave with stolen goods. Clever strategy!

I don't keep receipts but as I usually pay by card I have a record. It must be very upsetting to be accused like that - I wonder how it happens?

I do not think that is true! They need reasonable grounds to stop someone. That sounds reasonable enough to me.

I had a colleague who was accused of stealing bottles of booze from a supermarket. Police went to her house following a tip off from a member of the public! The police or store looked at CCTV saw she had been at the store as the informant said. This was 2-3 weeks after the alleged incident.
She was very organised and had kept the receipt to check against her bank statement ( I would not !) and could prove that on that date she had left the store with whisky/ gin she had paid for!

Seems a very strange policy!

When I told a member of staff at M & S that a woman was walking out of the shop with a label hanging out of her sweater that is what she told me.

Really? What about LizG with her trolley of groceries?

Ana not sure but I think the security staff have to see you steal the goods before they can approach you.

We love a moan when things change! Everyone will get used to it and either pay up or remember their own bags!

It is not just the environmental impact of discarded bags but the impact of production too. Many clothes shops have paper carriers which I suspect are just as 'damaging' to produce as plastic bags.

Agree re packaging ..do think a concerted campaign against over packaged fruit, meat etc would be good. I saw that Waitrose does minced meat in plastic bags rather than trays and vacuum pack.. small steps!

I've thought about that in relation to clothes, Liz. If customers refuse to pay for a bag there could be people walking out of M&S with coats and dresses over their arm - bit of a nightmare for the security staff!

I had my own bags in the car but left them there because I did not plan to do loads of shopping. Needless to say I came out with a trolley load. After paying replaced the goodies in the trolley.

I was stopped by security who could have been more pleasant but fortunately my receipt was to hand.

Suppose I shall have to buy bin bags now!

We had a big delivery from Tesco for our holiday in Cornwall in July and they didn't leave bags.

When I order online there is a place on the order from for bags/no bags. I think it is the same order form wherever you order from.

From Tesco's website:

'From Tuesday 24th September, we will be required to charge for single use carrier bags issued to customers with a delivery or collection postcode within Wales. There will be a charge of 35p per order, which is worked out based on the number of bags needed to pack an order. You'll see the charge itemised on your delivery receipt as "Bag Charge". All proceeds will be paid to the RSPB Cymru.'

I'm assuming they mean 2013, so it looks as though you just made it, annsixty!