The 5p Plastic Bag Charge: All You Need To Know - BBC News

[6Foot2]

Link 1: The 5p plastic bag charge: All you need to know - BBC News

 

...There are a few very specific exemptions. You will not be charged for plastic bags if you're buying:

 

• live aquatic creatures in water
  
• unwrapped blades, including axes, knives, and knife and razor blades
  
• uncooked meat, poultry or fish
  
• prescription medicine
  
• unwrapped loose seeds, flowers, bulbs, corns, rhizomes - as in roots, stems and shoots, such as ginger - or goods contaminated by soil, like potatoes or plants
  
• unwrapped ready-to-eat food for animal or human consumption - for example, chips, or food sold in containers not secure enough to prevent leakage during normal handling...
  

 

The new 5p charge for plastic bags is to be introduced in England on 5 October [tomorrow]

 

Link 2: Single-use plastic carrier bags: explaining the charge - GOV.UK

[comrade]

I hope it works, I hate plastic. Its used too much.

[sidewinder]

Long overdue. Fed up of telling staff at Tesco (actually any store, except maybe Waitrose) that I don't need a bag for a single item and have them look at me like I'm an alien. I once went with an old Tesco bag and the guy at the till refused to not give me a new bag. Like I was making his job too difficult?

 

The people that will moan about this are undoubtably the people who buy something then immediately put the bag in the bin when they get home. That annoys me so much, so wasteful

Edited October 4, 2015 by sidewinder

[hardtailstar]

I try not to use bags as most of the time im getting into my car after shopping as i dont buy enough to use a bag.

 

But ive got bags in my car ready ☺

[witch]

Just heard on Radio 4 from the ONLY company in the UK that recycles plastic bags and plastic film. The resulting little beads can be used for dampproof course lining or black bags.

Only 20% of plastic is recycled in this way and surely THAT is the problem. If more plastic was recycled then bags wouldn't be all over the hedgerows and in the sea.

 

I don't understand why more corn oil plastic film isn't used - I'm sure Sainsbury's did do some meat trays with this sort of plastic on and I can definitely buy dog poo bags that are made of corn oil plastic.

Fewer bags in supermarkets will be good too though. I have a lot of bags - many from BETT! which I have finally got into the habit of taking to the supermarket every week. I also carry one with me for small purchases.

[Quackers]

Yeah like a 5p charge is going to make me take bags back to the supermarket. Pee's me off, they assume i drive to the shops and keep a stash in boot, i don't i walk, and they also assume that i have planned to go the shop, i'm normally out walking and decide to nip in while passing, i don't do weekly shops so to reduce food waste since i eat a lot of fresh produce. Safeway had it right in the 90's on how to reduce bag usage for those who go weekly, and that was self scan + those large green plastic containers and trollies made for them. But they went bye bye and no other supermarket has taken this approach.

[localzuk]

I don't drive, and have never found the issue of taking a bag with my a problem. I hate carrying plastic bags - the handles cut into my hands. So, I bought some of those cloth re-usable bags. Much better. And they fit in a pocket. It isn't exactly a huge amount of effort to carry a bag around with you.

[Gatt]

Plastic bags are that thin that they're practically useless

Iceland's bags seem to be of a decent thickness but we tend to use B4L now(speaking which glad that Aldi have stopped those cloth bags and gone for something a bit more sturdy!

 

Never understood why we've never started using paper bags - with handle (such as Primark) than carrying them as they do in the US

 

Downside is less carrier bags for using at home - we use them for if we go out to keep snacks in.. this'll soon stop now

 

What annoys me with the charge is that it also applies to paper bags as well? Why?

Though at least here it is (allegedly) going to good causes, unlike Scotland - where it goes back into the Scottish Parliament's coffers...

Edited October 5, 2015 by Gatt

[IrritableTech]

Yeah like a 5p charge is going to make me take bags back to the supermarket. Pee's me off, they assume i drive to the shops and keep a stash in boot, i don't i walk, and they also assume that i have planned to go the shop, i'm normally out walking and decide to nip in while passing, i don't do weekly shops so to reduce food waste since i eat a lot of fresh produce. Safeway had it right in the 90's on how to reduce bag usage for those who go weekly, and that was self scan + those large green plastic containers and trollies made for them. But they went bye bye and no other supermarket has taken this approach.

 

I reuse those crates even now.

[Gatt]

I reuse those crates even now.

 

I was working in Safeway at the time they launched "Shop and Go".. or "Grab n Run" as it became known!!

 

The boxes were great - for everything except for shopping to be honest..

They were a bloody nuisance in the store stacked everywhere and people eventually sussed how to beat the system by hiding bottles of booze under bread and crisps

 

Think most ended up as storage crates or make shift planters!

 

Eventually it was phased out (probably due to massive loss of profits) but not before irritating everyone by forcing rescans on everyone..

[elsiegee40]

I reuse those crates even now.

 

Sainsbury's had their blue boxes/baskets which I still use round the house, but not for shopping as they don't fit the current trolleys and they are very bulky so I don't keep them in the car boot

 

I do reuse my Waitrose bags that I got given when I registered for a self scanner years ago. They fold flat, so they just live in the boot. I'm not embarrassed to use them anywhere but Waitrose (usually Sainsbury's) including in France on holiday where supermarkets have not given free carrier bags for years.

[Gatt]

Last couple of times we've been to Mallorca, we've brought back some decent reusable bags from their Eroski *snigger* and Mercadona supermarkets

 

They are damn good quality bags!

[Tesla]

 

Never understood why we've never started using paper bags - with handle (such as Primark)

 

First time i went to a Primark it was raining, and the bag split in the middle of Northampton with everything getting soaked.

[Miscbrah]

Forgot this was going on until I sleep-walked into the supermarket this morning. Saw absence of plastic bags and couldn't brain. Left carrying my milk and chewing gum feeling the green initiative, and embracing my new environmentally-conscious existence...

 

...As I drove my turbocharged, double-exhaust, 200bhp+, oil-leak-having sports car to work.

[mthomas08]

We buy the big super duper ultimate bags that you can fill up so much that it will break your arm before it splits. Got them from Aldi and they are brilliant.

 

Have not used the plastic ones for a while but I think it's about time.

[sted]

my problem is I just forget I usually remember in the queue which is no use when bags are in the car boot

[Diello]

I, for one, am glad the Government is concentrating on the important matters, like how I carry my shopping, rather than the minor things like poverty, the economy, terrorism, and world conflict. I wouldn't be able to be a responsible citizen and look after the environment without the Government telling me how to do it.

[Gatt]

I, for one, am glad the Government is concentrating on the important matters, like how I carry my shopping, rather than the minor things like poverty, the economy, terrorism, and world conflict. I wouldn't be able to be a responsible citizen and look after the environment without the Government telling me how to do it.

 

Yeah - helping to save this planet is just a minor inconvenience..

Who'll miss the Earth after we've destroyed all life on it?

 

Never mind though, at least we can carry our shopping home for free in our plastic carrier bags and then throw them away to smother plants, kill the animals when they choke / suffocate on them..

 

More important stuff to worry about right?

[claireadams]

Makes no difference to me, it's been in wales for a while now.

[localzuk]

I, for one, am glad the Government is concentrating on the important matters, like how I carry my shopping, rather than the minor things like poverty, the economy, terrorism, and world conflict. I wouldn't be able to be a responsible citizen and look after the environment without the Government telling me how to do it.

 

There is ample evidence that people *don't* act as responsible citizens and look after the environment. The plastic bags strewn in hedges across our district is evidence of this. The millions of tonnes of plastic shards in the ocean is more evidence of this.

 

So, personally, I am pleased the government is looking to try and tackle one aspect of the pollution we all create.

[Garacesh]

I've got a massive stash of plastic bags in the kitchen cupboard. We do sometimes remember to take them when we go shopping but most of the time we forget. Our ever-growing collection of Aldi carrier bags (seriously you'd assume they were disguised Tribbles) get re-purposed as trash bags and eventually end up in the black bin to be taken away.

 

Not massively 'green' but beats.. I don't know what. Do people throw them out of car windows..? How do they end up all over hedges etc? Usually you use a carrier bag to transport items from A to B. Usually that B is your home. Even if you don't want to keep it, how do you get from 'Balling it up and putting it in the kitchen bin' to 'stuck in a hedge'?

 

Edit: Realistically, though, whining about the government "not focussing on important stuff" is a bit useless. A) The environment is kinda important. It's in our best interests to keep it stable, something we're failing miserably at, and B) this is going to generate funds for $Whoever (I don't recall which charities..) and will only require little-to-no infrastructure cost to upkeep. It's not like they're going to be sending the old bill round every shop in disguise to make sure they're charging, is it?

Edited October 5, 2015 by Garacesh

[Diello]

Yeah - helping to save this planet is just a minor inconvenience..

Who'll miss the Earth after we've destroyed all life on it?

 

Never mind though, at least we can carry our shopping home for free in our plastic carrier bags and then throw them away to smother plants, kill the animals when they choke / suffocate on them..

 

More important stuff to worry about right?

 

Well, firstly you're making the assumption I was being sarcastic in my statement... Others have said that people can't be trusted to look after the environment, so the statement would stand. Anyway, my point isn't that we shouldn't help the environment, or that plastic bags are great - my point is the Government does these things like it's going to have some hugely major impact... the sort of people who throw plastic bags in hedgerows probably aren't going to give two-hoots about this, and those of us that do care, already re-use bags where we can, or use "proper" bags. It seems like a gimmick to me to help the Government appear eco-friendly (when no Government really is) by throwing the Green lobby a bone... I'd be much more interested to see them clamping down on CO2 emissions, industry flouting restrictions, etc. How about making it mandatory for supermarkets to offer bag recycling facilities? A couple of my local supermarkets do this, and it makes sense. The Government is there to deal with the things the people can't, Kyoto etc., rather than nanny-stating us by charging 5p for a bag... If you can't convince people that saving the planet is a good thing other than by charging them 5p a bag, we're really on a hiding to nothing anyway... There are many things people can do at home to help the planet, and the people that already are trying their best, are the people who already re-use bags, and the people that don't care, still don't care. You improve things and people's habits by winning the argument, not forcing people.

[localzuk]

Well, firstly you're making the assumption I was being sarcastic in my statement... Others have said that people can't be trusted to look after the environment, so the statement would stand. Anyway, my point isn't that we shouldn't help the environment, or that plastic bags are great - my point is the Government does these things like it's going to have some hugely major impact... the sort of people who throw plastic bags in hedgerows probably aren't going to give two-hoots about this, and those of us that do care, already re-use bags where we can, or use "proper" bags. It seems like a gimmick to me to help the Government appear eco-friendly (when no Government really is) by throwing the Green lobby a bone... I'd be much more interested to see them clamping down on CO2 emissions, industry flouting restrictions, etc. How about making it mandatory for supermarkets to offer bag recycling facilities? A couple of my local supermarkets do this, and it makes sense. The Government is there to deal with the things the people can't, Kyoto etc., rather than nanny-stating us by charging 5p for a bag... If you can't convince people that saving the planet is a good thing other than by charging them 5p a bag, we're really on a hiding to nothing anyway... There are many things people can do at home to help the planet, and the people that already are trying their best, are the people who already re-use bags, and the people that don't care, still don't care. You improve things and people's habits by winning the argument, not forcing people.

 

There is evidence already that charging for shopping bags does make a difference. There was a huge drop in their use since they started charging in Wales. Lower use means less waste going to landfill. Many things governments do is to change behaviour. Things like different Vehicle Excise Duty for different levels of polluting vehicles, or tax on cigarettes. Putting a charge on bags is not much work for the government, but will make a real difference to waste. Other things they could do is legislate on types of packaging that can be used - eg. mandate less packaging.

 

Put basically, this rule has a great cost benefit outcome - little cost, quite a lot of outcome.

[clockend25]

The lass covering the self-serve tills at Tesco was busy letting people know why they were being prompted to enter the number of bags they were using this morning. Most people nodded and carried on, but further down the section one man abruptly shouted out "FIVE POUNDS!!?!!??!" before being put straight.

 

Cracked me up.

[6Foot2]

This topic is causing some excitement on twitter it seems:

 

Link: Twitter reacts to the 5p plastic bag charge | The Poke