Supermarket plastic bags.

[anotheoldgit]

The Daily Mail used 7 pages of today's paper to highlight it's campaign to get the use of super-markets plastic bags banned.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles /news/news.html?in_article_id=521529&in_page_i d=1770&ct=5

Is this just more brain washing of the general public, (who are once again the ones to lose out) or is it a good idea?

The questions that must be asked are:

(1) How much will the supermarket giants save by not providing plastic bags?

(2) Will they contribute these savings to a good cause?

(3) Could not shops provide their customers with strong recyclable brown paper bags, as they did in years gone by?

(4) If the customer has to provide their own bags, how will he or she manage if they make an unplanned trip into the supermarket, say for instant on the way home from work?

Perhaps some other ABers have questions of their own to contribute on this subject?

[persianlady]

I think it is about more than the cost of the bags. I am not that bothered about the cost of the bags (within reason of course!) It is the effect on wild life that somehow eat these things that has upset me. Apparently sea birds mistake them for jelly fish and feed them to their young thus killing them. Turtles also eat them and die. There are also numerous other species that eat them and die. So for this reason I will not get any more with my shopping. I will be getting some proper shopping bags like we used to use years ago. i have often wondere why we cant have those brown paper bags that the Americans seem to have. Surely they can be made from recycled paper which is bio- degradable?

[TheDr-UK]

I've picked up a few of those bags from Ikea, the small ones are pennies the big one a few more pennies (25p I think), it goes in the trolley once it's all on the belt, and everything goes into it, one bag, used many times, in and out the car in one (use the smaller ones for bottles as otherwise the weight builds up a bit).
Speeds up the till and saves a few bags, I'm always amazed in (places such as) Asda & Tesco how they pack a loaf of bread into one bag, it's just another example of overpackaging..

[THECORBYLOON]

�To claim your free Daily Mail Eco Bag, simply send an SAE with 70p in stamps, or a cheque for �1.25 to cover post and packaging made payable to the Daily Mail.
If you would like to receive three bags for all of your shopping needs, just make out your cheque for �3.50�

I had a look on the Royal Mail site and 70p is the cost of a large letter sent First Class up to 250g or about 8oz.

Royal Mail sells packs of ten A4 envelopes for �1.49, which works out at 15p each and no doubt they are cheaper in bulk. It appears the Daily Mail is charging 40p for someone to put one bag into one envelope. How can that be justified?

Obviously three bags weigh more than one but even assuming they weighed the full 250g, three bags weighing 750 could be sent First Class for �1.42 so they are charging �2.08 for someone to put three bags in the envelope.

Am I missing something here?

[helpmetoo]

they havent started charging yet so tomorrow when i go to tesco i am going to take two or three whole packs that they have on the end of the till,

should last a year i reckon

[anotheoldgit]

The usual shock tactics used by the media or the government, seemed to have gained the result intended with you persianlady.

[fagidill]

All the major s/market's in the USA, use plastic bags,not
paper. Paper bag's in the USA are used by independantly
owned store's.

[Quinlad]

Whereas your views on immigration are calm and balanced and totally unaffected by "the usual shock tactics" of the Daily Mail, AOG.

[anotheoldgit]

Shock tactics by the Daily Mail Quinlad? No just the hard facts, that I agree can be quite shocking to those that would rather bury their heads in the sand, and hope the problems in this country go away.

[Quinlad]

So to sum up:

Stories in the media that are in line with your own views = "hard facts".

Stories in the media that you don't like the sound of = "usual shock tactics".

Thought so.