The Carrier Bag Scandal

[astral276]

I noticed that in the link given in post #2 shops also have to charge for "single use" paper bags.

Well that seems rather self defeating in getting people off plastic bags. What about when you go to the deli counter and they put your meat in a small paper bag? Is each one of those 'single use bags' going to cost you 5p each? What size does a bag have to be to be defined as a 'carrier'?

[shabbird]

informative thread. never realised the bags would be charged from October in England I do reuse
the carrier bags for more shopping and then to reuse in the pedal bin. But its despicable
that an old man had to show personal products and not given a bag..even a paper bag.

[emmily121]

]I was under the impression that most plastic carrier bags these days are biodegradable.[/U] Certainly, the ones I've kept my Christmas lights in have started to degrade after spending two years in a cupboard. That said, they do cause an environmental problem when they are carelessly discarded, as does all rubbish. I reuse carrier bags as bin liners and containers to hold recycled waste, so I try to accumulate them when I can. They also come in for all sorts of other uses around the home and when going on holiday. I will miss them if (when) they go, and I will have to get used to keeping bags in the car and by the door, which I currently never remember to do. It would be a good thing if everyone brought their own bags to the shops, but like all habits, it will take a while for people to get used to it. After being charged for a flimsy bag a few times, I'm sure we would soon get into the habit.

Ah, yes, they're the ones that turn into confetti...just one of them made a right mess in our car when I opened the glove compartment, which is rarely opened...

I agree, we'll all get used to it, eventually...just another one of life's minor changes to adapt to.

[suesjools]

informative thread. never realised the bags would be charged from October in England I do reuse
the carrier bags for more shopping and then to reuse in the pedal bin. But its despicable
that an old man had to show personal products and not given a bag..even a paper bag.

That bugged me reading it, too. I also feel for those who do a large amount of shopping at one go, like the Canadians I saw in NY this past summer who bought hundreds of dollars worth of groceries at Aldi and then had to pay extra for bags to put all the groceries in.

Best wishes for many sales to all,

[PetBazaar]

What about when you go to the deli counter and they put your meat in a small paper bag? Is each one of those 'single use bags' going to cost you 5p each?

This is one of the allowed exemptions. Bags used solely for the purpose of holding unpackaged food.

[tony41]

Charging for plastic carrier bags is an excellent idea. The French have been doing it for some years now. All you have to do is take your own bags with you when you go to shop.

[buttons-and-bows]

Keep some box's in your car boot as well ( nicked from said supermarket )and just put the shopping from the trolly into the box, take box in house empty and use box for making smaller box's for making packing, that's if you have a car of course.

[countryfeedback87]

Suppose I should bump this.

What a joke

[countryfeedback87]

Update info from the .Gov website

If you’re a large retailer the minimum price is 5p for most single-use plastic carrier bags. If you’re a small or medium-sized business you don’t have to charge, but you’re free to do so voluntarily.
If you’re already charging 5p or more for bags you don’t need to charge an extra 5p.
When you must charge

You must charge if you employ 250 or more full-time equivalent employees (in total and not just in retail roles). Your number of full-time equivalent employees is the total of hours contracted by all employees divided by 1 employee’s full-time hours. A full-time staff member who worked all year counts as 1 employee. Part-time and seasonal staff, and those who did not work the full year, are counted as fractions of 1 employee.
You must charge if you:

• sell goods in England
• deliver goods to England

People with fewer than 250 full-time equivalent employees don’t have to charge. If your store is part of a franchise or symbol group (sharing a brand and products) you only count employees in your business. You don’t count the franchise or symbol group as a whole.
For example, if you own 10 stores in a symbol group and have more than 250 employees in total, you’ll have to charge for carrier bags. But if you’re part of a symbol group and own 2 stores with 15 employees, you don’t have to charge


Bags you charge for

A bag is considered as such if it has an opening and isn’t sealed. You must charge at least 5p a bag for carrier bags that are all of the following:

• unused - it’s new and hasn’t been used previously for sold goods to be taken away or delivered
• plastic
• with handles
• 70 microns thick or less

[TiasTreasures]

Makes me laugh when we go Walmart in the States, and they have the big carosel thing and the staff literally give you one bag per item!

Many of us in California are trying get disposable plastic bags banned altogether. A law to do that almost passed, but the politicians caved in to business lobbyists. We're not giving up. Eventually it will happen here (and I hope everywhere). Everyone I know has reusable bags, they're available in almost every store at very low prices and given away free at many events (with advertising on them, of course).

Incidentally, before reusable bags were available, many of us saved the plastic ones for reuse in wastebaskets and garbage pails. They could, of course, also be reused for shopping trips. I don't think I ever threw away one of them unused, I still have stacks of them packed away.