General Chat

Supermarket Carrier Bag Con!! Call me a sceptic but since when do Supermarket give a stuff about the planet!! Latest ploy by *SDA, *ainsbury’s and I’m sure rest to follow. A Big box at entrance to store for your used bags! WHY? 1. Helping to save the planet? lol 2. Jumping on the band wagon (Like MP’s etc who still fly the planet re. meetings on “Save the Planet” Simple solution “USE PAPER BAG’s” OK no 1, So save the planet. (pmsl) What happens to lets say 10 ton of plastic bags: 1. They SELL back to waste management co. for profit! 2. Cover their costs. (And big PR job) 3. Do big PR job (At what cost to US) put prices up. Yes, ALL three!! The bigger problem is secondary packaging, The Marketing cartons/packaging we don’t need!! So why don’t they INSIST suppliers don’t supply secondary packaging?? (Work’s great in Germany). *SDA and the rest, 2 pears in poly tray wrapped in cling film was 20p dearer than picking my own. Why?? PROFIT!! Labour/Tories etc (Not Green party types) suddenly jumping on band wagon (USA, biggest world polluters now becoming the World experts,) Yuk Now the councils gonna cut back on waste collections? As if Joe public is to blame!! I’ve been, like a lot of people sorting their waste for Years, what was the councils doing!! “Taking our money, like supermarkets etc” and giving us the middle finger! Rather SAVE the PLANET than save 2p on taxes I might not be able to spend it. “Certainly not our children”. Non political Derek….

hear hear dreeks, you know what annoys me! the products you buy with less intervention costs more eg - unbleached flour, loo paper, unperfumed products The company that is always advertising with their garbage MACDONALDs the closest on to us is 4.5 km away, and on any given day I will see wrappers and drink cups from there either in the gutter or chucked about in any bit of spare ground. Subway is the same. also sugar wrappers from coffee companies that are automatically given out at takeaways regardless of whether you have it in your beverage yvette

Hiya Dreekie.....the supermarkets say they listen to the customer, but I have yet to find a suggestions box in our Tescos.... When I see MiL with arthritis and Parkinsons trying to open the cellophane wrapping on goods, even before opening the package, it makes you realise what is being wasted, and for what....if the goods are of a good quality you buy them again, never mind the package.... Again, with the brown paper bags as used to be supplied to carry out shopping in the US (most of them have changed to the plastic sort now too)......why go back on a good idea?? Tescos have supplied brown paper bags for mushrooms (only)....I don't know why it is just for this vegetable....the only problem is that it has a cellophane window in the bag,......just so you can see the mushrooms you have picked.....or don't they trust us?... Agree with all you say.....

PS...what I came on to say, but forgot......did you see that one supermarket is supplying a bin outside, so that you can remove the excess packaging, and you can see how much is wasted......and think of the saving to the food companies if they used less double wrapping.....

When I go through the checkout in the supermarket (here in NZ) I say 'no bags thanks'. I just put things straight into the trolley, and when I get out to my vehicle I transfer things into cardboard cartons and the chilly bin. I do have some calico bags which I can wash and reuse if I want food in a bag, provided I remember to take them into the shop with me.

Although I completely agree with your sentiments, I doubt if the supermarkets make much profit by selling used carrier bags back to the bag manufacturers. The cost of transporting them must far outweigh the few pence per tonne that old carrier bags fetch! And of course, the big supermarkets have such enormous clout with their suppliers, that they could insist all goods came wrapped in gold tissue paper if they wanted, so they have no need to collect excess packaging to try to influence the supplier. Lidls don't issue free carriers, you have to buy them. So people just take empty boxes off the shelf and use them - works fine, AND saves Lidls the cost of recycling loads of cardboard, lol. OC