5p for a carrier bag......!!

[sir albion]

That's my new business done and dusted....selling carrier bags for 4p outside the supermarkets,will be wealthy soon

 

[Jim Van Winkle]

when I heard this was going to be introduced I started online shopping for my food. Had 2 months of bliss, no walking round a supermarket and only buying what I need.

I shall not be paying for a carrier bag

Have been doing the same since the turn of the year. 10 minutes on the IPad Sunday morning, delivered next day. It has stopped all the impulse purchasing too and saved us $40-$50 a week.

More time saved for NSC and money back in my pocket.

 

[pastafarian]

Mayhem out there.

On the flip side, I notice(top corner) if you are a Mail reader and unhappy with this 5p charge you can still stick it to the environment by turning to page 48 and have a tree murdered for free in time for Xmas.

swings and roundabouts

 

[Gritt23]

Mind you I will now have to buy more plastic rubbish sacks instead of "recycling" shopping bags

Exactly this! For every carrier bag I don't buy, I have to buy a plastic bin liner instead. We do not have an ever growing pile of these bags, we seem to use them at the rate we get them.

So, I really don't see the "environmental" benefits if I'm just replacing one plastic shopping bag with a plastic bin bag.

 

[Hillian1]

I'm going to predict that within 2 months we'll all be wading knee deep in Dog Shite.

 

[GT49er]

I agree. Apparently the government will make £20m off VAT from the new tax. Also AFAIK giving the money to charity is recommended, not compulsory.

Yes, if it must go to charity, then there should be some independent body to nominate the charity, not just left to those with a possible interest. I wonder if anyone's set up a charitable organisation to assist the sons and daughters of (allegedly) impoverished former directors with their university tuition fees, or something like that. If there isn't one, I'm sure there's ways to fix that! Must check with the Charity Commission..........

 

[CorgiRegisteredFriend]

I got an argus after work (for Saturdays match report) and was offered a bag for 5p but refused to buy and ended up in the rain with a soaking wet paper.

 

[BN9 BHA]

 

[pb21]

Exactly this! For every carrier bag I don't buy, I have to buy a plastic bin liner instead. We do not have an ever growing pile of these bags, we seem to use them at the rate we get them.

So, I really don't see the "environmental" benefits if I'm just replacing one plastic shopping bag with a plastic bin bag.

Good for you, trouble is there are 54 million other people in England.

 

[Seagull]

Great that we finally have a charge for this pollutative unsustainable oil by-product. A small step but in the right direction.
A phasing out of fossil based non-renewable pollution products should have started decades ago. Far too many vested commercial interests and selfish individuals to make the necessary changes quickly enough in all areas of current human life however. Pity Britain likes to be a laggard in this area.

 

[RexCathedra]

5 cents/bag is routine in many cities a few larger jurisdictions here in the US, including the state of California.

People adapted quickly, and the promised police state for which this was just the thin end of the wedge has not yet materialized.

 

[andy1980]

You're just simply wrong. On all counts. The problem with plastic bags is they do not break down completely. They may appear to the naked eye to be decomposing but the plastic nano-particles never biodegrade, they end up in the water table, they then enter our oceans and are responsible for poisoning marine life and the destruction of coral reef. It really is a problem.

I've been in the trade for 17 years. Biothene breaks down into a non toxic residue in 12-18 months.

 

[Nibble]

I've been in the trade for 17 years. Biothene breaks down into a non toxic residue in 12-18 months.

It does. Is it widely used?

 

[andy1980]

It does. Is it widely used?

Not as much as it should be. The problem with carrier bags is they are the symbol of our throw away culture. Single use carrier bags are not single use carrier bags otherwise people would not have bags of bags in their kitchen.

 

[8ace]

I've been in the trade for 17 years. Biothene breaks down into a non toxic residue in 12-18 months.

I think the co-op used to use them, I had one in my drawer at work - when I came to use it later it flaked to bits everywhere.

 

[andy1980]

I think the co-op used to use them, I had one in my drawer at work - when I came to use it later it flaked to bits everywhere.

I'm sure it did it has a metal ion and secret catalyst (biothene is a brand name) added to the polythene when it is made which reacts to sunlight.

 

[Brownstuff]

5p not enough but small steps and all that.
In Wales for example since this was introduced about 5 years ago they have experienced about a 70% drop in carrier bag use.
I think it should be 20p as someone mentioned before or even more, 5p is a paltry sum.
If you know the money is going to go to charities then 20p is a reasonable amount and will have a much bigger impact on any serious long-term reduction.
The amount of people I see taking a fresh bag for only 1 or 2 items is ridiculous
Carrier bags in the whole scheme of things is indeed miniscule but it is all about awareness and common sense
When I've been food shopping in France and Germany can't recall any carrier bags there, this then becomes the norm for everyone, in Scandanavian countries they are even more less reliant

 

[andy1980]

To see the other side of the argument (there is always another side) you should visit the carrier bag consortium website.

 

[looney]

Sounds like mindless communism to me.

What about bringing back deposits on bottles and cans, then we can get the scrotes running around cleaning up the place to buy their wacky backy.

 

[looney]

If they put wheels on the bottom of baked bean tins then you wouldn't have to buy many to strap them together and skateboard home from the shops saving on fuel as well as plastic bags.