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Plastic bags.
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Is anybody else surprised that despite the ever increasing emphasis on the environment nothing has been done about plastic bags?
People in Holland, Germany and most other European countries seem to be capable of using reusable shopping bags - isn't it about time something was done about plastic bags in Britain?
Working in a supermarket I find it hard not to be disgusted at some people who insist on wrapping individual (already packaged items) in separate plastic bags - then coming back the next day and doing exactly the same thing, not re-using anything...
People in Holland, Germany and most other European countries seem to be capable of using reusable shopping bags - isn't it about time something was done about plastic bags in Britain?
Working in a supermarket I find it hard not to be disgusted at some people who insist on wrapping individual (already packaged items) in separate plastic bags - then coming back the next day and doing exactly the same thing, not re-using anything...
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Although having said that, I don't take my carrier bags out and reuse them for shopping (mainly because I usually get it delivered), but they do all get reused for other things.
I'm tempted to buy a proper shopping bag though as most of the ones I've had recently have broken on me
At work though it's shocking the amount of bags people use up - we get through a couple of boxes of them a day. It's the Co-op though, and the bags aren't very strong. Since they have made them biodegradeable, they aren't strong enough to trust with heavy things such as bottles of wine and so we are forced to double bag things like that to stop them breaking.
Some people do bring bags to reuse but I hate having to pack them in those bags because they are usually really skanky. There is one bloke in particular that I can't stand packing for. Even though we are supposed to pack for people I pass his stuff through for him to pack because they bags he brings are gross.
As for me, I use my big, tough Lidl bags everytime I shop. They rule :thumb:
We get our shopping delivered once a week and I've noticed that sometimes they only put a few small items into a bag, so we end up with loads of bags of shopping but not that much shopping.
if I'm in town and go and buy something, I do tend not to ask for bag and just put stuff in the bag I already have on me.
That used to make me sick. People wrap already wrapped bananas in plastic bags. Melons in bags - they have their own protective skin! I don't even wrap up carrots or onions (unless theres loads). You're going to peel them anyway. The worst is when they put a pre-packaged sandwich in a plastic bag, and then take it out to eat it before they've even reached the door. Fucks sake
they use a carrier per aisle, so if you only have one thing from that aisle, they will just have one item in a carrier bag.
Jim - my environmental science teacher at A level said something about supermarkets not leaving cardboard boxes for customers anymore because they have to recycle a certain proportion of their cardboard and if it was being left under the tills for customers it didn't count as being recycled and so they were missing their quotas. I don't know if that's rubbish or not but it seems like there is truth in it.
That's the explanation I'd heard, too. However our local Aldi still does it, and it's still very prevalent in Europe along with reusable plastic/canvas bags etc. My favourite thing ever about supermarket shopping in Germany and Austria was that loads of people used ye olde picnic baskets (obviously not hampers, the actual baskets) to transport their shopping... or if they had less to buy they just whacked it all in their bike basket and went on their merry way :thumb:
It's a definite difference in culture also that we tend to do bigger, weekly shops. Obviously some people do that in Europe too, but they're very into picking bits and pieces up as and when they need them. Probably a big hint as to why their diets are better than ours and they aren't so wasteful in that respect.
That's the end of my Europe appreciation for now :razz:
i feel exactly the same!
i work in asda and its getting harder and harder not to say things to people - i have to bite my tongue and stop myself from saying do you REALLY need a bag for those two things? people are just lazy sometimes.
supermarkets have sort of started offering incentives though, like lucifer said at tesco...from april in asda, if you take back 5 normal plastic carrier bags you get one of the bigger bag for life ones for free. hopefully so they'll start using them instead of millions of carrier bags.
Exactly that... What is wrong with some people?
We leave the boxes that wine come in for customers to re-use. Other cardboard is recycled. Although, might make more sense to leave all the boxes like you say.
Don't some shops like O2 use these anyway? (I could be thinking of something else but I'm sure that's what they gave me I got something from them)
That's just stupid. And it's really a waste of a plastic bag when there's only something small like a pack of mints or something.
I'm the Environment Rep at work and I started a recycling scheme for plastic bags which has been an amazing success. Staff fill two wheelie bins a week with plastic carrier bags and I take them to Tesco as they have a recycling facility there. I am happy that the staff at work are using the facilities I've made available but now the scheme has been up and running for several months I am starting to get a bit miffed because some of the bags people bring are for supermarkets that offer recycling facilities and I feel like they're using my scheme as a 'middle man'. It takes time to collect them and then drive all the way to Tesco (which is about 8 miles from where I live) once a week.