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.

[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.

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!

[Hemlock]

I was driving round Friston Forest where we live and noticed umpteen plastic bags hanging from the trees and whenever we go for a walk on the beach we pick up umpteen plastic bags and plastic bottles that have washed up on the shore - when will it end?
Now when shop assistants try to give me plastic bags I say NO!!!!!

[flying plum]

'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.

heh heh i reckon you wouldn't get away with it in teh UK either, but here they're a little bit more laid back. i don't think it would work if i had loads and loads of stuff, but when it's just a few tomatoes, an aubergine and a courgette etc, they can still see what's in there so they don't seem to mind so much. i got the idea from seeing a little old lady do it...

amanda

[vava]

I was saving mine up and giving them back to sainsburys to re-cycle and then I found out they just chuck em!

[Digital Ghost]

heh heh i reckon you wouldn't get away with it in teh UK either, but here they're a little bit more laid back. i don't think it would work if i had loads and loads of stuff, but when it's just a few tomatoes, an aubergine and a courgette etc, they can still see what's in there so they don't seem to mind so much. i got the idea from seeing a little old lady do it...

amanda

In the UK I just take the fruit/vegetables bagless and tough luck if the people at the checkout think they make a mess.
Once paid for I put them in my reuseable bag with the heaviest at the bottom.

[Zorillo]

My mum said that Sainburys orange bags can't be recycled because there are too many biodegradable materials in them and you have to ask for them or something like that

[green woman]

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

That's good to hear. I expect that island communities have always been more eco aware than those on the mainland because of the difficulties in transporting products to the islands and getting rid or rubbish etc. People on the mainland take things much more for granted.

[vava]

My mum said that Sainburys orange bags can't be recycled because there are too many biodegradable materials in them and you have to ask for them or something like that

I get mine delivered - v annoying only one item in a bag sometimes - wonder if I could ask for no bags - that would bother them I think!

[Gorilla]

who do you shop with vava? Tesco have an option to have your shopping delivered without bags, but i think they're the only supermarket doing this so far.

[vava]

deliveries from sainsburys - but - I went to the co-op today for cruelty free airfreshener and polish etc and they have fabby new bags. they feel all silky and they say pop in your garden compost heap when finished with. I love the co-op.

[Sarah_]

What I want to do is take all the plastic bags I have from grocery stores that I've saved and do what this one crafty person did: run them all together like a basket weaver and make really durable, reusable shopping bags that won't tear around the bottom like normal ones can sometimes do. Then again, I'm afraid if I do that I won't have any bags for when the cats need the poop scooped. What does everyone else with cats do for them?

[BlackCats]

I was saving mine up and giving them back to sainsburys to re-cycle and then I found out they just chuck em!

(They take the used bags back off you at the door if you order online, I assumed they were recycling them.)

I order from Tesco now and I think I will get the shopping without plastic bags next time. They are in crates anyway so the food should be fine.

[Roxy]

What I want to do is take all the plastic bags I have from grocery stores that I've saved and do what this one crafty person did: run them all together like a basket weaver and make really durable, reusable shopping bags that won't tear around the bottom like normal ones can sometimes do. Then again, I'm afraid if I do that I won't have any bags for when the cats need the poop scooped. What does everyone else with cats do for them?

We use this cat litter which is safe to be flushed:
http://www.swheatscoop.com/earthframe.html

[Sarah_]

Thanks Roxy! About how much does it run for?

[jonnie falafel]

My mum said that Sainburys orange bags can't be recycled because there are too many biodegradable materials in them and you have to ask for them or something like that

I know someone who shreds them and crochets them into bags for life.

[Laura(Go vegan)]

Ugh I hate plastic bags too. Most of the people in stores will try to stick the tiniest things in huge bags that I can easily carry in my pocketbook or they'll unnecessarily double bag EVERYTHING. When I tell people I don't need a bag, they give me the weirdest looks and I just smile and tell them I don't need to waste them.

[vava]

carry in my pocketbook

I kept seeing this in an american book I was reading - what is it?

[Laura(Go vegan)]

It's a purse. Pocketbooks usually refer to a "day" bag (something you can fit your entire world in because it's so big) vs a "night" bag which is usually a very small clutch.

[vava]

It's a purse. Pocketbooks usually refer to a "day" bag (something you can fit your entire world in because it's so big) vs a "night" bag which is usually a very small clutch.

oh a handbag - we keep money in our purse over here!

[Laura(Go vegan)]

Yea or a handbag haha. We have about a zillion names for a pocketbook

[vava]

Yea or a handbag haha. We have about a zillion names for a pocketbook

sounds like a computer to me - heh

[bradders]

HATE plastic bags. I always used to reuse them for laundry for rubbish etc but I live in havering and all rubbish here has to go into a black sack or an orange sack if it's recyclable. no wheely bins here. I usually use my own bags or a bag for life though and get most of my food from the greengrocer downstairs from me. They do keep trying to offer me plastic bags but they don't get offended or anything.
I think they think I'm weird anyway on account of the sheer volume of fresh fruit and veg I buy from there.

[shiny2008]

Really a concern. Here just launched policy, now is reducing the plastic bag requirement...it's going better and better...

[vava]

I live in havering no wheely bins here.

[Shrapnel]

oh a handbag - we keep money in our purse over here!

We keep our money in chests buried on Isla de la Calavera, guarded by the ghosts of Captain Reddog The Mad and his crew of the damned.

[Digital Ghost]

I live in havering and all rubbish here has to go into a black sack or an orange sack if it's recyclable. no wheely bins here.

Where I live in England we don't have wheely bins either - I think it's rather stupid really.
Anyhow - as at my last house we had to pay to buy them I took my ones with me when I moved.