Should this be under 'Chat'?

My Mum told me about those nonnie!!

Actually, I think it's a brilliant idea.

I like the idea and think all the supermarkets should do it I hate all the unnecessary packaging than goes on surely a cucumber doesn’t need tight plastic undercoat followed by a loser plastic overcoat when it has its own green covering why do potatoes have to sweat away in plastic bags etc etc the same girpes for things online why does something the size of a book and not delicate and in a box, need polystyrene chips plastic inflatable bags in a box three times it s size Bring it on I say

We used to have a " Weigh and Save " shop in the village years ago-----dried goods which were in containers with scoops to use. I don't know what happened to it but it was handy as a guard against waste too. It just appeared to fizzle out.

This could turn into a wander down memory lane with regard to Brexit, Trump, Khan, Farage, Corbyn, etc.

I remember the black and white tiled floor of our local shop, the old wooden counters and the bacon slicer and weighing scales. Mum would buy loose leaf tea, which was scooped from a crate and weighed, and the same assistant would use the bacon slicer to giver her as many rashers from a large flitch of bacon as she wanted. The smells in that shop were glorious.

Oh, and everything was wrapped in paper or brown bags.

back in the 90s we had a 'loose weigh' shop.
We have a shop in Leigh on sea that sells practically everything loose weigh from washing up liquid to maple syrup.

I remember the blue bags. What interests me about the Waitrose scheme, is that customers have to bring their own containers. Fine if you are buying one thing, but what happens when you want to buy several items? Will you need to have a big bag to hold all your containers and how will they weigh everything.

In France a lot of supermarkets have banks of serve yourself ingredients, but they usually provide paper bags (like the blue paper ones) to put your goods in. Paper can be recycled, composted, used to light the fire and a hundred other uses.

I remember blue bags of sugar! Just about.
The grocer's shop was Stevenson and Rush. There was always a mingled smell of bacon, cheese, coffee, and probably a few other things.

I must have been under 6, but I also remember the milkman coming with a horse, which dds when younger found absolutely hilarious. To them it was like something out of seriously ancient history.

A thought. Should we be concerned about self-serve germs? I say that because I saw a man sneeze into his hand then go for the scoop at Lidl to scoop some loose pistachio nuts into a bag. He handled a few to inspect them before throwing them back.

I am a bit concerned too about fresh bread and cakes on open shelves in supermarkets that people breath all over, touch, etc, etc. I am not a clean freak but I have become used to the stuff I buy being untainted by other customers. Nostalgia is all well and good but some food hygiene rules I consider to be positive 'progress' and much needed.

In theory it’s a really good idea, but to be honest, I’m with Day6, the hygiene aspect would put me off!

I’ll never let the children buy pick and mix sweets at the cinema

I don’t remember the blue bags at all which makes me very happy. Do remember tins of broken biscuits ready for sale. Also big pop bottles (cherry Corona anyone?) to return for a deposit,

I heard that they would supply reusable containers but you could bring your own. Whatever happens it is sending out a good message to make people think.

While we are being nostalgic: big tins of biscuits, not forgetting the one with the broken biscuits which were cheaper. Of course butter was weighed out too. Our grocer put the money in a container which whizzed across the ceiling to the office where the money was taken and change put back them whizzed back to the counter. Oh I must be really old!

The way it works in France the germ problem is obviated. The different goods are in hoppers, you put your bag under the hopper, press or pull something and a little chute opens that puts the goods directly in your bag/container, once you have enough, you stop pressing or pulling and it shuts again.

It isn't the case of open containers or customers able to touch or play with the contents of the container.

The picture I saw of the Waitrose system shows hoppers, as MOnica describes.

What I don't 'get' is how goods are to be weighed for pricing.

Sounds a good system MOnica

I actually filled sugar bags when my mum and dad had a shop. Sugar came in huge bags and we weighed it out. I was taught how to fold the top as well so it held tight.
But it took me ages to realise that the sugar paper we had in school was the same stuff as the bags!!!

Yes, hoppers could work, (as long as no pesky toddler/little person interferes with the mechanism at the bottom. )

I agree that food packaging and waste is a huge problem we should be tackling.

Yes I agree with the hygiene concerns too Day6. I cringe when I see folk dipping in to the self serv deli at one particular supermarket. I am minded of the time when they analysed nibbles in dishes on bars and found all sorts of faecal bacteria......A hopper if hygienically managed would be OK. Paper bags do takea lot of energy to produce however, so perhaps reusable containers is the way to go.

I have to agree about that, too. Plus a concern that some evil people might add toxic substances to the food. Which is a pity because, other than that it's a great idea and one that I would love to support.

But how does the shop know how much you've put in your container?

Pre and post fill weighing?

The weighing problem puzzles me. If the supermarket has standard bags, paper or compostable plastic then it works like for fruit and veg.

I have a whole collection of mismatched glass containers containing all the items of food you would find in such a asystem - rice, dried fruit, rice etc. DoI take a clanking bag of jars into the shop, or do I have to get some other containers, equally bulky but less noisy, or do I use bags supplied by Waitrose?

I think this has been happening for a while.

my.morrisons.com/blog/community/bring-your-own-container/

Waitrose are trialing "borrow a box" scheme which seems good to me. Presumably you pay a deposit and return to refill? Much more Eco than using paper bags which use more energy than plastic to manufacture.