I hate plastic bags!

[maidenofthewell]

I just need somewhere to let out my hatred for plastic bags! I cant stand them and cant seem to get away from them! Ive been travelling in Eastern Europe for a while now and it feels like everywhere I go I have plastic bags forced upon me. In some supermarkets in the fruit and veg sections Ill go to get them weighed with it all loose in my basket because I DONT WANT A BAG, but the person there will just look annoyed and put everything in bags however much I try and point out its unnecessary. I suppose the language barrier is part of the problem...but Ive been to a few fruit and veg markets and bought my own bag with me, but still keep getting given them and just cant seem to get the message accross that I dont want it. Some people look offended when I turn it down, even though its saving them money. I just hate them so much there should be a worldwide ban.
Im also hating the amount of packaging most foods come in but that can wait. No more plastic bags. Ever!
Ok, rant over, I just needed to let that out, its doing my nut in!

[harpy]

It happens here as well I'm afraid. Some places have stopped dishing out plastic carrier bags as a matter of policy, and some charge for them I think, but in others you have to tell the assistants about three times that you don't want one thank you. I don't think it's the language barrier, I think they're just on autopilot.

On the continent they sometimes use small plastic bags as a security thing don't they - shove the fruit in the bag and then price it, presumably to stop you nicking extra fruit on the way to the check-out? We don't have that so much because stuff is normally weighed and priced at the check-out, in the supermarkets I go to anyway.

[DiaShel]

You know what makes me crazy?? When I buy one little thing and they put it in a big plastic bag before I can stop them, then I say "I don't need a bag thanks", and they take it out, hand it to me, and the proceed to toss away the bag!

[green woman]

Supermarkets in the UK are aware now that people are using their own bags more and are actually encouraging them to do so but I used my own canvas bags long before it became fashionable and many times I took stuff out of plastic bags that the checkout person had put in even though they could see I had my own bags! They used to get a bit shirty sometimes when you refused a bag as well which they don't do now. Sometimes they still insist of putting frozen stuff in plastic bags, they think they're doing you a favour - and I take it out.

[Sarah_]

Diashel, I know what you mean! All the time! I'll go to a store and tell them no thanks, I've brought my own bags, so they take the bag and just chuck it! If they're going to throw it away without using it, I want to change my mind and just take the damn bag because at least I can use it for cat poop or something, instead of it just being binned with no purpose.

[sandra]

Yes, I'm afraid to say I quite like being given plastic bags at the supermarket as I use them to put soiled cat litter in. If they weren't given out for free I would have to buy plastic bags, and as it cost me around £150 a month to keep the cats as it is, that would just be another expense I couldn't afford. :(
Of course if I didn't have the cats I would probably find plastic bags just as annoying as everyone else. :)

[green woman]

Quite a lot of supermarket plastic bags are degradable now so it's ok to use those, Sandra. Some places are charging for bags now, I think it's 5p in Marks and Spencer, so eventually all supermarkets may start charging too and that'll add to your cat bill. How many cats do you have? :)

[sandra]

Hi Green Woman, yes I noticed it said on the bags that they are 100% degradable which is a good thing. :)
I have 11 cats so as you can imagine the bill for food, cat litter etc is quite a lot each month. One of the cats is multi-allergy and is on constant medication and a few of them have had to visit the vet recently so we have vet bills quite often too.
My sisters and other people think of me as a crazy cat woman and I suppose there is other things I could be doing with the money but I couldn't walk past a hungry, unwanted little cat (or any other animal) on the street and not do something to help.........I just couldn't live with myself. :)

[kasitera]

They say "degradable" but that's not the same as bio-degradable is it?

[Risker]

^ What's the difference?

[kasitera]

Ah I think that degradable means it'll just take longer to break down.
Biodegradable plastic will degrade as a result of bacterial activity whereas most of the products using the label Degradable plastic, degrade as result of physical and chemical impact (fracture into smaller pieces of plastic).

(I don't know much about this subject so apologise if i got something wrong!)

[Gorilla]

see the Wikipedia page on bio-degradable plastic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradable_plastic

[sandra]

Well, as long as they all degrade in the end! :)

[Gorilla]

well as it says on the Wikipedia page, the conditions in landfill sites mean they don't actually degrade properly, if at all.

[Digital Ghost]

I'm not sure which supermarket it was - but I noticed that they now put some of their pre-packed vegetables in bags that you can put on the compost heap. (I'm not saying it is right to buy these as apposed to buying them bagless)

So why don't they just do that with all their bags?

[green woman]

The compostable bags are used for organic produce and probably cost more to produce.

[flying plum]

yeah...they really hate it here when you turn up with everything loose. at the Konzums here (if you're in croatia, you're probably well acquainted by now!), the checkout girls always find it hilarious that i have stuck my stickers (you can weigh stuff yourself) on the veg themselves, rather than on a plastic bag.

what i have taken to doing now though, is putting all the stuff in one bag, and sticking the stickers on the outside so they can scan them. that way, only one bag used. and i use them for other things too, like rubbish bin bags, so they're not entirely 'wasted'.

amanda

[Digital Ghost]

'what i have taken to doing now though, is putting all the stuff in one bag, and sticking the stickers on the outside so they can scan them. '

I did that in France once - they were not best pleased when I got to the checkout to say the least. :undecided:

[Gorilla]

good idea Amanda, if they let you do that! i once took some loose broccoli through the checkout and the lady working there was most annoyed that i'd got little bits of broccoli all over her checkout. :rolleyes:

Green woman is right the compostable bags do cost more to produce because they're made on a smaller scale. i know Sainsburys pack their organic fruit and veg in this compostable packaging and possibly Asda too. i buy unpackaged where i can though.

[green woman]

I don't use those little plastic bags for loose fruit and veg and sometimes have to stop the person at the checkout from putting it all in little plastic bags. They haven't got annoyed with me.... so far. I try to shop at green grocers as much as possible but it isn't always practical.

I have had stuff with the compostable packaging and for some reason it took an age to break down in my compost heap. I haven't bothered with it again.

[cobweb]

i just take it all loose to the tills here at Tesco, they are very eco minded here in Orkney so nobody minds.

[sandra]

well as it says on the Wikipedia page, the conditions in landfill sites mean they don't actually degrade properly, if at all.


According to Tesco their bags contain something called EPI which causes the plastic to become more brittle and degrade after 18 months. :)

[Digital Ghost]

They were not pleased with me doing it - but I still did it........so technically I kind of got away with it. ;)


I have had stuff with the compostable packaging and for some reason it took an age to break down in my compost heap. I haven't bothered with it again.

I have to admit I never actually bought/tried the items in the compostable packaging.

[Zorillo]

Umm... I liked not using black bags but putting my rubbish in the bags that some food came in :) You could tie up banana bags. I have carried food in my hands as well from shops. I saw a bag made of drinks cartons or something, in a shop. I have OCD and collecting up all these plastic bags would mean more to check, BOOOO! Ever notice those people with several plastic bags in their hands? If they don't have the brains to reuse from home, can't they when shopping, stick stuff in the same bag instead of collecting up loads?!

[sandra]

Good points Zorilla!