Banning plastic carrier bags

[Carol Anne]

Why not ban them altogether? You hardly see them in USA or Canadian supermarkets where they have used recycleable paper sacks for decades. Why don't we use brown paper sacks here, they don't have handles to carry in the street, but for getting the shopping to and from the car they are ideal.

[weggiewabbit]

It�s not quite as simple as that for some of us � I live on the 2nd floor and have to lug everything up the stairs � I can carry several supermarket bags, but very few paper sacks in one go.

[pastafreak]

The woven carriers that many of the supermarkets supply (started by M&S I believe) are actully much stronger than plastic...and they seem to hold more. i think most of the supermarkets will start to phase out plastic..at least I hope so.

[Whickerman]

http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/Waste/Pla sticBags/FAQs/

Works here - paper is not the only alternative btw, supermarkets sell long-life heavy plastic bags now that simply last years. We just bring them each week.

[Petal~flower]

pasta, the woven carrier bags... you have to pay for.

I am so eco friendly, yet work in retail and have to give bags to customers... everytime I give one, I feel guilty.

Always ask if customer wants a bag though

[scanner]

As long as they come with the green leaves sticking out the top as in all US film's I'll use them ...

Only joshing ...We use the strong canvas type where possible and reuse any plastic ones as much as pos.

[LoftyLottie]

I reuse my supermarket plastic bags as binliners, etc Therefore, I do not buy rolls of plastic liners, etc. of any kind. I hope all those that decry the use of supermarket plastic bags don't buy rolls of plastic bags for any other purpose! They are also great as pooper scoopers!

If we had frequent rubbish collections, instead of fortnightly I probably wouldn't use plastic bags for my rubbish either. But I don't want unwrapped rubbish festering in my dustbin. Have you ever thought about all the plastic bags on the rubbish tips and how long they take to biodegrade?

Not having plastic bags in supermarkets would be a very small tip to the iceburg. Our whole thinking about plastic has to be totally changed.

[daffy654]

I think now is the time to buy myself an old lady shopping trolley.As an added bunus I can ram people in the ankles with it like most of the old ladies around here do.

[daffy654]

PS...........i'm not old(39).lol

[chazza]

They aren't banned in Ireland, but they are supposed to charge for them (which they sometimes do and sometimes don't bother) but it was found that after the charging system came into place, the sale of plastic binbags rose dramatically!

[helpmetoo]

this is all relative b@!!ocks,

people will still be filling up their veggie carrier bags with packaged food contain many times the plastic in a thin bag,

[LoftyLottie]

Exactly helpmetoo. You have echoed my sentiments above, but with more down to earth language. Welldone!

[Hermia]

What do the Americans/Canadians do when it rains re: the brown paper sacks? I mean I have a 30 minute walk home from the supermarket and if it rains my shopping often gets wet even in a plastic bag. I'd dissolve in a paper one! And how on earth does one carry home heavy items like laundry detergent in a paper sack?

I do take bags to the supermarket with me, but I'd want to have the option of being able to buy a plastic one if needed. I am not struggling home with a paper bag!

[Twenty20]

Ah, Hermia, the answer is that most Americans drive everywhere, so they dont get their paper sacks wet. Perhaps its more ecologically sound to drive to the shops and not use plastic bags?

[MaryDou]

When you are filling your canvas or otherwise eco friendly bags with fruit, veg etc packs in unnecessary plastic wrapping and polystyrene bases are we not just missing the point.

[Carol Anne]

Just a minute...I've only just noticed that Tesco bags have 100% degradable printed them. I wonder how long that means. Couldn't they all be made that way?

[shaneystar2]

This makes interesting reading ..failing that get your knitting needles out girls and turn them into these :))

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/a rticle.html?in_article_id=450744&in_page_id=18 79

I try and always use a shopping bag but it feels as if you are defeating the object when most of what you buy is wrapped in yet more plastic .It's all very well for these supermarkets to say they are using biodegradable bags and so on but they also ought to look at the amount of totally uneccesary other packaging they foist on us ..Cart before the horse and too little too late spring to mind like all these other cackhanded recycling policies ..

[Panic Button]

Apparently it is not that simple.

Paper bags can need a lot more energy used in production.

For strength they have to be thicker, so for the same number of bags the weight of the paper bags is significantly higher. Therefore there is an increased cost and level of pollution in transporting them.

Switching to paper bags is therefore not the answer.

[B00]

I loved that article shaney, if only because I laughed out loud when I saw the size of that knitted bag.....I so want to see someone cram a weeks worth of shopping in it ;-)

[Ice.Maiden]

Funny you should post this, Carol Anne, as my son's doing a school project about it. It appears that plastics manufacturers are well aware of the problems caused by all these bags, and because it's big business, they're trying really hard to find a way of making them more eco-friendly. The advantages of these bags of course, is that they're roomy, quite strong, waterproof - and can be used to carry advertising slogans without the print coming off. Once they find a way of making them bio-degradable, I think they'll be here for good.