America & Paper Bags
Can anyone tell me why shops in the UK have started making flimsy
thin plastic bags instead of adopting what the American supermarkets do
and use paper bags? These can at least then be recycled!
I never use plastic bags, and always carry my own, but I was pretty
heartbroken to see practically ever single middle-aged shopper in
Sainsburys on Sunday using plastic bags. These are now so flimsy that
people have started double bagging (don't blame them, have seen at
least 2 bottles rip through bags and smash)
Surely someone in this country must have at least thought about it??
Created by sneakypeeker on 15 June, 2009
Help turn this thought into action.
There's been a suggestion to save plastic and oil by making plastic bags flimsier but this is what caused the problem in the first place. Firstly the flimsier they are the cheaper they are and then they're used willy nilly like when I bought a sandwich once in a paper/cellophane bag which was then put in another paper bag and then in an ultra flimsy plastic bag. I've seen bulky glossy mags placed in flimsy carrier bags whose only purpose was to show the staff that the magazine was already bought. Secondly they are useless and split easily even used to wrap something up to be kept dry and transported in another bag. We ought to be going back to sturdy plastic bags only which can be used time and time again.
Created by Lemsip on 10 July, 2009
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If people want to buy wine in supermarkets why can't they buy plastic wine carriers with handles to transport their wine in.
Created by Lemsip on 10 July, 2009
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We really need to get away from all thoughts of Plastic.
The very word used to be synonymous with Cheap, and Plastic of any form is far from cheap, mainly sourced from oil, and using huge amounts of energy to produce, form, print and dispose of.
The original thought here anout the use of Paper rather than plastic hits the nail on the head. 25 years ago Sainsbury's supermarkest in the UK launched a massive campaign against plastic, using Paper instead. In addition their own brand products were simplified to reduce packaging....a tin of Beans had a white label with "Baked Beans" printed in black. Would anyone care to guess at how many gallons of expensive printing ink were saved, not to mention the energy saved in the printing process itself?
Yet the initiative died and faded away...because we all let it.
Posted by bloomers on 18 July, 2009
So-called "biodegradeable" ones are even worse because they just fall to (still little plastic) bits in the soil, they don't genuinely biodegrade.
Our local CoOp (bless 'em) delivered proper cloth bags to our entire neighbourhood! And these bags came in little "pockets" so they don't unfold all over everything else in your handbag/rucksack: brilliant! I carry mine in my bag all the time like a proper Russian! But you don't half have to be quick at counters before shop-assistants put thingsin plastic bags!
Created by RenewableCandy on 10 July, 2009
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That's so cool!
Why aren't more places doing that?
It seems so obvious!
Posted by mrchrisadams on 20 July, 2009
Even though I'm a 13 year old, i am still very wary about the use of thin, plastic bags.
Introduction of paper bags would be so great for the environment and the shoppers needs. They would be biodegradeable and wouldnt split/tear. I think the americans have the right idea.
Paper bags can also easily be re-used. Eg. Colouring paper for kids and cool wrapping paper.
Plastic bottles take 500 years to biodegrade, so you can just imagine what time it would take for millions of plastic bags to decompose in the landfills. Action needs to be taken before the counryside is cut into for more room to cram rubbish.
By the way, i want to be an activist if it isnt already obvious.
Created by superecolaura on 12 July, 2009
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Ive always wondered why we dont have paper bags too? I think everybody just needs to get into the habit of remembering their cloth bags, I think its going to take a long time to change peoples habits especially when the supermarkets keep supplying the plastics. I think all supermarkets should just stop using them, it would only take a couple of trips to the supermarket and the inconvinience of not having a bag, to force people to change their habits.
Created by mouse on 13 July, 2009
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I cannot prove this put I have suspected for a very long time that governments, consciously or not, support all this wastage because if you bin it you need to buy more.... I mean what would the multi billion bag a year producing industry do with itself if their products became illegal...
I wonder how many plastic milk bottles have been sold since the milkman vanished... I hate to rub the glaringly obvious in everyones face but in most of the developing world they re-use their old bottles would this maybe mean that this is a cheaper option?
Created by Alex C on 15 July, 2009
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Yes, developing countries are better at refilling than us, but they also reuse their plastic bottles in Denmark - they've got really strong drinks bottles for fizzy drinks and water which are all the same shape so they can be easily refilled even if they've come from different companies (all they need is a new plastic lid). they've even managed to persuade the coca-cola company to use them, which is pretty impressive. i think this proves that a forward-looking and responsible government CAN change the way things work, even if it means that plastic bottle- or bag- making companies are forced out of business - presumably in Denmark there are businesses which work to collect and clean the bottles ready for refilling, so a new revenue is created by the change.
Created by emP on 5 August, 2009
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The same is true for Germany. Most glass and plastic bottles are being re-used. You pay a few cent "deposit", which you can redeem when you return the empty bottle. This also reduces littering as even if some people can't be arsed to take their bottles back others will actually walk around and collect bottles to get the money for them.
The small plastic bags should be banned from supermarkets. Instead, they should only offer larger, sturdier ones, which you actually have to pay for. If you want to use paper bags instead that's fine by me as long as they're made out of recycled paper to avoid further logging. Personally, I find them a bit awkward to carry - especially if you're trying to carry a small child on the other side. People will certainly complain vehemently to start off with but eventually they get used to it and remember to bring their own bags.
This happened in Germany about 20 years ago (actually, I don't remember ever getting free bags as a child there, and I am now 31...), and in France nearly 10 years ago. I am not sure, though, if only some supermarkets were involved in this campaign in France.
Created by Karolin78 on 7 August, 2009
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Great idea to keep an extra bag in a bag, but I have a habit of taking bags with me, filling them with shopping, then forgetting to put them back in the car, handbag etc ready for the next time! Spirit willing, but mind very weak!!
Created by Anne Tarctica on 16 August, 2009
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Paper bags maybe biodegradable and plastic bags are a
obvious eye saw as litter, but paper bags are much worse for the environment
than plastic as they use a lot more nasty chemical in there manufacture, far
more water (and there is not enough of that in the world) and they are really
heavy (up to 20 times heavier than a skinny plastic bag) and this means
shipping the paper bag to your shop and then using them once makes them far
more environmentally damaging overall. However i am not a supporter of plastic
bags either. Reusable bags all the way and especially one that you remember to
take with you. Onya bags you keep on ya on a key ring from example and if you
use code eco1 in the shopping cart you can get a 15% discount. Cheers Dan
www.onyabags.co.uk
Created by Onya Dan on 17 August, 2009
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Wales has been taking the lead on this for a couple of years now - although if you read a London based paper you'd be totally oblivious to the fact!
The National Assembly is currently undertaking a public consultation on the introduction of a levy on the use of all single use carrier bags (not just the plastic ones).....hopefully by next summer we'll be the first UK country to follow the lead set by the Irish many, many years ago.
This step follow the submission of a petition to the Assembly back in 2007 which called for the banning of plastic bags in Wales. Unfortunately the National Assembly currently lacks the legislative power to bring about a complete ban - hence the next best thing - the introduction of a levy with the money raised being channelled into environmental projects.
However here's a pretty obvious and straitforward solution for the majority of people who forget to take 'green bags' whilst out shopping in the large supermarkets - USE NO BAGS AT ALL! Why not just wheel everything outside in the trolley and put everything loose in the back of the car?? Is a bag realy essential?
Whenever I forget to take a re-useable bag with me I simply put everything loose in the bag of the car taking care not to place glass bottles and jars next to each other - at most it only adds about 3 mins at either end of the trip!
Created by Neil Evans on 17 August, 2009
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Joining in from Colorado, USA. Our grocers typically offer a choice of using paper bags or plastic bags and some of the larger chain stores offer a small credit on one's bill for using one's own reusable bags. A smaller natural food store at which I shop sometimes, donates the reusable bag credit to a charity. I like that! They also have cardboard boxes available. I keep my reusable bags in my car so I always have them with me (otherwise I would forget them).
Sunflower Market, another natural food store at which I recently started shopping has milk in reusable plastic bottles that can be returned to the store. Glass would be preferable, but I just like the idea of reusing over recycling.
Love that I can join the Nag family from across the sea!
Created by CherylColorado on 18 August, 2009
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This gets on my nerves too.
Could it simply be that plastic bags are cheaper than paper ones?
Created by mrchrisadams on 9 July, 2009
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I think the reason we don't have paper bags a la the US is because the bags serve a different function there.
In the US, the purpose of the bags is to get your stuff from the shopping trolley into the boot of the car, so they don't actually need to be carried. In the UK, although there is obviously a lot of this too, here people often need something that they can also carry home without a car, so it needs to have handles. This pretty much rules out paper bags (especially for heavy stuff, or if it might rain) - hence plastic "carrier" bags.
Am however up for a ban on all free/flimsy plastic bags- I gave them up years ago and now only use resuables.
Created by Greavsie on 14 July, 2009
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I agree with your completly on this. Why are they charging us for thin plastic bags, when they could simply use paper bags instead ?
As for the above, I see where you are coming from about having to carry them home, however, that is a problem easy to solve. Basically, just add handles to them. The only problem that I can see with that, is perhaps the paper would split, but surely they could make them slightly thicker, to make everything easier.
Created by Katie_x on 24 July, 2009
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Recently the GTA here in Ontario, Canada made a by-law that all businesses must charge for plastic bags. It's not a lot, but over time it builds up and it's a little bit of a deterrant for using plastic bags. Many small businesses use paper bags rather than plastic already (as for the heavy loads, the local bookstore in my town uses heavy paper bags with handles and they did find for my textbooks--and I walk everywhere, so they survived the trip home, too). It's also a first step towards a ban on plastic bags. People change very slowly.
There are efforst starting up to recycle plastic bags, here in Ontario anyway. A lot of stores have plastic bag recycling bins where you can drop off your plastic bags to be recycled. In the GTA, they accept them in the curbside recycling boxes as well.
Created by mokita on 13 October, 2009
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