Instead of using plastic carrier bags

[Maisiepaisie]

I just received my Onya bags today. I'm really impressed with the way they go into a really small pouch which will fit into my handbag. I often forget to take carrier bags with me when going shopping so end up getting new ones. If you click the 'plastic bags are not cool' sign on the main page its shows a list of facts about plastic bags, one of them being that they can get injested by animals who then die. After their bodies decompose the bag is freed to be injested by another animal and so on. Even bags disposed of in the bin can get blown out of landfill and cause hazard for animals. Normally I use carrier bags to line the bin but I don't want to do this anymore after reading what can happen. I can't imagine any plastic being safe for the environment so maybe the best way is to not line the bin with a bag and just tip the rubbish into the big bin as it gets full. I'm going to do that from now on unless anyone has any better ideas. I will try to reuse all my plastic bags until they rip then they can go into the recycling bin. I really don't want anything to do with plastic bags after that. They should be made illegal considering the amount of damage they do

I remember when Tesco had the blue box scheme a few years ago. You would buy the big blue boxes which fit onto a special trolley and you would use the boxes to carry your groceries home. It was scrapped unfortunately, I think because of lack of interest. A shame because it seemed like a really good idea.

[philfox]

oh wow they are so fab! and not bad prices too, i save carriers here but still forget to take them to the store with me. i like the back pack one, good for carrying those tins back (and wine...)

[Tigerlily]

I try my best to remember to bring my reusable bags. I have three canvas bags (small, medium, and large) and one sturdy plastic bag that's meant to be reusable. My mom doesn't use reusable bags, so sometimes I reuse her plastic shopping bags.

The supermarket here as that box scheme but the plastic boxes are green. They're nice but heavy if you are walking home with your groceries--especially if your box is filled with heavy things like soy milk, etc.

[Sluggie]

I always keep shopping bags in my car - soft cooler bags are brilliant for carrying groceries. When I first started doing it, I would often forget to put them back in the car after I'd emptied them, but it's become an ingrained habit now.

[heat13]

If anyone is looking for a nice reusable bag that you can carry as a purse or a school bag for books or something too, my neighbor handmakes these bags:
www.robinleedesigns.etsy.com

She uses recycled fabrics and materials too! They are very sturdy and also super cute She will ship all over too!

[Maisiepaisie]

This is great news. The government is planning to impose a charge on plastic bags. Here's the article from the GMTV website http://www.gm.tv/index.cfm?articleid=28737 They were talking about the issue on the show a few days ago.

[mogthecat]

I've got 4 big canvas bags from reuseablebags.com (in the US so, retrospectively, not good because of air miles, but they were the best - and best priced - I could find). They also sell velcro sandwich packs which are fully washable and very sturdy. We used to use 2 disposable sandwich bags each day so that's a big plastic saving!

[Digital Ghost]

They seem to put everything in a plastic bag in some countries - its like they really dont care or see it as a problem.

Today while waiting at the checkout I watched the person before me buy an ice cream (single serving stick type). The check out assistant found a small plastic bag for it........2 minutes later the bag and wrapper had both been thrown in the bin.

[cedarblue]

I've got 4 big canvas bags from reuseablebags.com (in the US so, retrospectively, not good because of air miles, but they were the best - and best priced - I could find). They also sell velcro sandwich packs which are fully washable and very sturdy. We used to use 2 disposable sandwich bags each day so that's a big plastic saving!

have you looked at the japanese bento lunchbox thread mog? what about getting a couple of them? or at least check out the fabby lunches in them

Today while waiting at the checkout I watched the person before me buy an ice cream (single serving stick type). The check out assistant found a small plastic bag for it........2 minutes later the bag and wrapper had both been thrown in the bin.

some people see the purchase of their item going in a bag as 'all part of the shopping experience' - it's ludicrous!!

i am using a really big £5 m&s cloth/woven square bag now for my bottle/can purchases and those 10p ones from sains & waitrose - but when they give out i think instead of getting my new free one, i'll get some more strong cloth/woven ones.

i wonder with those 10p ones they renew for you whether the ripped/broken one you hand in goes into recycling? hope so.

[Digital Ghost]

Out of interest - I use bags made by this company http://www.freitag.ch ...........been using them for about 6 years now and they havent broken on me yet.

[sandra]

I have a bit of a dilema regarding supermarket plastic bags. We shop at Tesco and re-use the bags to put used cat litter in. As we have 11 cats you can imagine there is quite a lot of cat litter to get rid of.
So, even if we stopped using the supermarket bags we would have to buy other plastic bags to dispose of the cat litter.
Does anyone have any suggestions regarding this?

[cobweb]

i suppose you could use biodegradeable bin bags for the litter, sandra - go round with the same large bin bag and do all the litter trays with the one bag?

[sandra]

Good idea Cobweb............are those bags like plastic? It's just if I used paper bags the wet cat litter seeps through.
Aswell as that it says on the Tesco bags that they are 100% degradeable so I suppose they are as good as any to use. If they stop giving out free bags it will just mean more expense for me but I suppose I'm used to sacrifices like that by now!

[cobweb]

^ yes, sandra, i was thinking of the biodegradeable black plastic bin bags, but if tesco ones are now also biodegreadeable, as you say you're probably just as well off using them anyway!.

it's a pity you can't turn it all into something useful like compost or fire fuel - probably be a bit smelly though, hmm.

[sandra]

Yes, I was thinking about that.................it would be good if it could be 're-used' in some way as we have at least 15 bags (supermarket size) of it a week!
Aswell as that our council is now only doing bin collections once a fortnight instead of every week. We already re-cyle everything we can so what we put in our 'ordinary' bin can't be re-cycled. We really need that bin emptied every week so it looks as though we are going to have to load our extra rubbish into the car and take it to the dump ourselves!

[mogthecat]

As we have 11 cats you can imagine there is quite a lot of cat litter to get rid of.
So, even if we stopped using the supermarket bags we would have to buy other plastic bags to dispose of the cat litter.
Does anyone have any suggestions regarding this?

Out of interest, do you let your cats out to do their 'business' in the garden? We have litter for ours because we keep them in at night but they seem to prefer to wait for the day and 'go' outside so we rarely have to change the litter.

[sandra]

Hi Mogthecat..........yes they go outside aswell but for some reason seem to love the indoor cat litters too! Not only do I have about 8 cat litters to clean out numerous times a day but I then have to clear any 'mess' they've left out in the back garden!
I love them though and wouldn't have it any other way!

[mogthecat]

Hi Mogthecat..........yes they go outside aswell but for some reason seem to love the indoor cat litters too! Not only do I have about 8 cat litters to clean out numerous times a day but I then have to clear any 'mess' they've left out in the back garden!
I love them though and wouldn't have it any other way!

I'm impressed at your dedication I love mine to bits but don't think I'd have the patience for all that cleaning!

[sandra]

I think it doesn't matter if it's one, or one hundred..............you just want to do the best you can for them!

How many cat's live with you Mogthecat?

[snivelingchild]

My only recommendation is to either use a special garbage bin for just litter garbage (although this is only convenient when the boxes are in their own room, because of the smell) or composting litter, which is what we do. (Obviously, only if you use a biodegradable litter such as Swheat Scoop or recycled newspaper ones)

We got a doggy doolie system (the super) and it handles all the litter from 5 cats. It doesn't take up much room in the yard, so even if you used 2, it wouldn't be these huge things. You can even put them all the way into the ground so all you see is the lids.

There are some special litter garbage bins for litter that keep the smell in (like a diaper genie thing) and you can use biodegradable liners in those.

[mogthecat]

I think it doesn't matter if it's one, or one hundred..............you just want to do the best you can for them!

How many cat's live with you Mogthecat?

2 cats - brother and sister from the same litter. In a way we would like to have more, but ours are so secure and friendly that I think it would really upset/unsettle them if we did.

I think we will get chickens instead! When we have bought our new house I plan to see if I can rehome some battery hens.

[sandra]

That sounds good............re-homing the battery hens.
You're right about cats being usettled if any new cats enter their domain. All the cats who live with me were rescued cats. We originally had 5 and then a lovely feral cat decided that our kitchen was the best place to have her 6 kittens.
We all fell in love with her and her kittens and wanted them to live with us!
It took the other cats a while to adjust and I still have to keep one or two of them out of each others way but we get along ok most of the time.

[treehugga]

Sandra. Here in Australia you can buy really large bags of dog/poultry/horse feed in large durable paper bags as well as plastic at animal feed stores. If you asked your local animal produce store they may be able to let you know of someone who could let you collect the empty large bags for the cat litter. Or put in a cat door so they can let themselves out.

People here carry on about no being able to line their bins for rubbish if they can't collect supermarket plastic bags. Bins can easily be lined with large sheets of newspaper - much like our grandparents did.
We have so little rubbish as we reuse just about everything and I hate plastic. It kills so much marine and birdlife that I think vegans should seriously consider ridding it from their lives altogether.

[sandra]

Yes Treehugga...............if they made more 'durable' paper bags it would be good.
Snivilingchild has given me some good advice about composting the litter so I'm going to look into that too!

[Sluggie]

Newspaper's a good idea for lining bins. I usually re-use plastic packaging for that kind of thing. My bathroom bin gets lined with the wrapping from big packs of toilet roll, I use the linings of cereal packets for wrapping sandwiches in, etc.

[moggy]

People in the UK are definitely getting better with using less plastic bags, but it meant that a charity shop I'm involved with started to struggle for donations of used plastic bags to use. However, we found a way round it. Our local Somerfield has a scheme where people can exchange 5 used ordinary carrier bags for a stronger reuseable one. The store lets me have all the bags that have been returned to them for recycling, for the charity shop.

[journey]

I've got tons of cat litter to dispose of each day too - we usually use the plastic bags they put our groceries in at the store (I think they're biodegradable), but still kind of feel guilty about it. But if we start accumulating more bags than we're using for litter, then I try to use reusable paper or canvas bags that we bring to the store.

But what about freezer food storage bags? I've been freezing a lot of vegetable dishes I cook, in small serving portions and have to use a separate baggie for each. Don't have enough room in the small freezer for bulky tupperware containers. I do try to wash and reuse the baggies, though. (And save the baggies that bread or bulk foods come in). I can't think of much better way.

[pat sommer]

WooHoo... the ban on free plastic bags has taken affect in China!

Now, they smile when I pull out my carrier bags from my backpack whereas a month ago they just looked quizzical.

Oh, the trees won't be so pretty come Autumn: not festooned with dozens of flapping bags.

[WildWitch]

I think soon it will be a very uncool thing to be seen with a plastic carrier bag, lets get reusable bags a fashion item. Im pleased to see that more shops are charging for their bags, though 10p just isnt enough and i do wish the shops that offer free plastic bags would first ask customers if they have their own bags rather than just shoving everything into a plastic bag automaticaly. The times i have to take stuff out and give them back their bags is unbelievable. People need to be encouraged to reuse the plastic bags they have collected or even better use their cloth/hemp ones over and over again.

[cobweb]

wildwitch that is so true - every time i shop in woolworths they stuff my shopping into a plastic bag even though they can see i have my hemp bag with me!

[WildWitch]

more places should ask if a customer has their own bag, might make them think then.

[Gorilla]

oops sorry double post

[Gorilla]

whenever i buy anything i always tell the cashier i don't need a bag before they get the chance to stuff my goods into one i sometimes get a funny look but it works!

Infinity Foods in Brighton charge 10p for a bag now, and the bags they do give out are totally compostable.

[WildWitch]

Whatever happened to those scoop shops where you would go and fill a container with dried fruit, cereal, rice, soya mix etc. Brilliant places they were, no packaging, you just filled up your own container or paper bag, had it weighed and paid, such a simple idea, so green, why dont we have scoop shops in markets anymore?

[Maisiepaisie]

whenever i buy anything i always tell the cashier i don't need a bag before they get the chance to stuff my goods into one i sometimes get a funny look but it works!

Same here. I don't get why some people think its weird to not want a bag

Whatever happened to those scoop shops where you would go and fill a container with dried fruit, cereal, rice, soya mix etc. Brilliant places they were, no packaging, you just filled up your own container or paper bag, had it weighed and paid, such a simple idea, so green, why dont we have scoop shops in markets anymore?

I've been thinking about those shops too. It was called 'Weigh and Save'. There used to be one in Manchester arndale.

[cobweb]

i bet those weigh shops had to close cos of all the latest hygeine/food safety laws - it must have been hard to regulate dates on the loose produce, etc. Shame though.

[journey]

We do have a few places that still sell bulk foods - our local health food store has different rices, beans, TVP, grains, etc in bulk - just scoop it up and put in a bag, theirs or yours. Some of the Whole Foods chain has them too, but not all of them.

[Gorilla]

there's still a place in Brighton where you can buy dry foods by weight but the staff do it for you, i guess to regulate hygiene standards and stop people nicking things. there used to be a real old-fashioned scoop and weigh shop in Worthing but i don't know if it's still there

[Digital Ghost]

There is Unpackaged in London which does stuff that you weigh out. It's near angel tube station and seems quite popular.

http://www.beunpackaged.com/

[moggy]

In the charity shop we definitely do ask people if they need a bag first, and there's a noticeable increase in the number of people these days who say no.

What bugs me is at the kiosk checkout at the local supermarket- even when people buy just one or two small items the cashier automatically puts them in a bag.

[journey]

Yay, we just found a large scoops store - Amish / Mennonite run, local, with tons of different bulk foods (nuts, grains, rice, beans, flours, eggless pastas, even candies, etc). I think they get around the health concerns thing by scooping it into the bags themselves (instead of the customer doing the scooping) - great prices too with bulk food.

I think a key to changing people's habits of using plastic shopping bags will be making it uncool to be seen with them as mentioned above - politically uncorrect. Otherwise, unfortunately I think they're a lot of people who just don't care, but if everybody looks down on them for it, then they'll do it.

And what about the big plastic garbage bags we all line our trash bins with? I'm trying to think if there's a way around that? Only thing I can think of is not using a liner at all, taking the whole trash container to the garbage dump each time, and washing it out afterword - a bit more cumbersome, but I suppose it could be done.

[Digital Ghost]

And what about the big plastic garbage bags we all line our trash bins with? I'm trying to think if there's a way around that? Only thing I can think of is not using a liner at all, taking the whole trash container to the garbage dump each time, and washing it out afterwards - a bit more cumbersome, but I suppose it could be done.

When I moved house the place I moved to didn't have trash bins - on querying the neighbors (very rural area btw) apparently they were never given out or offered .

Anyhow - I took my bin when I moved cause I paid for it .

Odd thing was when I first moved I noticed it didn't get emptied.
I had to wait for the guy who collects the trash and personally tell him that I used a bin . All the people around just use the plastic garbage bags.

Personally I never saw the point in buying the bags to throw away so I just wash out the bin when it gets dirty.

Also - I sort through my rubbish and recycle the things I can. There is a recycle place near my house that you can recycle almost everything - it's ace. Getting to the point - I don't really have much left to throw out at the end so there isn't really much mess.

[journey]

Yes, once we started composting, most of the messiest garbage no longer gets thrown out in the trash.

[Lisey_duck]

If i plan a food shopping trip in advance I take a rucksack and one or two bags for life (I have loads from different shops - collected them when moving house) and generally don't take plastic bags. If i make a more ad hoc trip straight from work, then i end up picking up a carrier bag for anything that won't go in with my work things. These carrier bags then get used to line the bin. I also try to minimise what goes in the bin to start with, by getting food with less or no packaging and recycling whatever is possible. I don't have a huge surplus of carrier bags, but i haven't had to buy binliners or bubble wrap for the time i've lived on my own.

[Jasmine_tea]

I remember forgetting my canvas bags one shopping trip so I made my sister carry what I couldn't and between the two of us we got the groceries home! The check out people were so weirded out--they kept saying "are you sure you don't want some bags?" but we kept saying we preferred nature over convenience hahaha they probably thought we were hippies. It wasn't a huge grocery haul so it wasn't really a big deal for us...

[Corum]

We do that all the time... we go shopping and if we haven't taken our bags we go without, just sticking the whole lot into the boot of our car from the trolley. No-one tends to notice to be honest.

[Mahk]

We have recycled plastic tote bags here that read, "I used to be a bottle".

I think that's cute.

[wom]

I'm on holiday from uni at the moment, and so I'm back at home with my parents for a month or so. I'm shocked to see that my mother not only still uses plastic bags for her shopping, but that she also takes extra bags (which she doesn't use at the time) to have "just in case she needs them later". I can't believe that she's so ignorant of this whole issue, despite every supermarket kicking up such a huge fuss about it.

Personally, I keep a fabric tote bag folded up in a pocket of my normal bag, so that whenever I need a bag I have one to hand.

[Sloth]

In my place of work (former place of work as of today ^_^), which is essentially a scum record shop chain, we get through an -enormous- amount of plastic carrier bags. Towards the end of my employment there, I had taken to just handing peoples' purchases to them minus the bag if it looked as though they already had several. This was mainly because asking people specifically whether they -needed- a bag or not, was no longer causing people to consider the matter. I can say honestly that both approaches were often met with annoyance, even hostility on various occasions. It would appear to me that people often underrate their own impact, and will not acknowledge their part in a larger problem.
On a more positive note, however, the amount of people who refuse, or don't request a bag has definitely risen since I first started in that particular job. ^_^

[Marrers]

I find many sales assistants take not notice when I say "I don't need a bag" and put my purchase into one anyway, even if I have repeated myself several times. Then they stare at me when I remove it and leave the bag back on the counter! (It is quite shocking that so many still do this, despite all the recent publicity and policy changes on bags.)

I always refuse extra fancy packaging (for example boxes or cloth bags they give you when you buy jewellery) unless I'm buying a gift.