Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
Take a tip from the wily Irish. They introduced a law which forces a government levy of 15c on every plastic bag purchased from a retailer.In the beginning people were so subconsciously dependant on the plastic bag that they paid the levy, then they got tired of it and started bringing their own bags to shops. Now, if they buy something and have no bag...they carry it home in their hands.
It has now become part of the social psyche to be mindful of plastic bags. They now, rarely, if ever, request one and instead bring funky cotton bags shopping.
Interestingly, it started a chain reaction of green thinking within the country. Now people are BIG into recycling and the effects of waste on the community.
You get pretty tired of paper carrier bags too once you have to separate it from other rubbish and recylce it properly.
Bottom line, don%26#039;t wait for retailers to come up with the green solution, it%26#039;s better for you in the long run to come up with your own ideas. 100% 1 Vote
Other Answers (24)
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Plastic bags, otherwise known as Witches Knickers are a major cause of landfill problems here in UK. Putting a cash price on the purchase of these plastic bags at the sumermarket will not stop their use. They way to rid us of them is to ban them completely by law.
Back in my childhood and youth of the 1940s and 1950s there simply were no plastic bags. People went shopping carrying their own shopping bag or basket. Otherwise purchases might wrapped in brown paper or slipped into a brown paper bag.
We%26#039;ve got to get back to using our own shopping bags.
I%26#039;ve found a market stall which sells big bags for reuse dozens of times for only a couple of quid. I%26#039;m off down there on Monday and from then on all our stuff from the supermarket goes in these reuseable bags.
Strange, the Americans just do not use plastic bags to carry their shopping in - paper bags usually. GREENWICH 110108.1550GMT 0% 0 Votes -
It doesn%26#039;t concern me from the point of view of harming the environment. They are not toxic to the environment. They are mostly just a nuisance to dispose of. It would be better if more people used reusable bags for that reason. Recycling doesn%26#039;t really matter enough to justify the fuss. Toxic chemicals found in much of our waste is much more of a concern than plastic bags.
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I think they are great. I use them to put my trash and garbage in before I throw it in the bin.
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make people pay for them is a good idea like Lidl do. i hate shops that give you one even if you say you have your own bag.
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I am certainly worried about the number of plastic bags that are issued by shops. But I am also worried about the number of bags of other sorts handed out.
Plastic bags are a particular worry because most of them take many years to degrade and in the meantime they are a wildlife hazard and an eyesore. But all shopping bags (even paper ones) are generally a waste of resources.
The solution to the waste and pollution problems caused by shopping bags is to take your own bag to collect the shopping. A plastic bag re-used in this way is far preferable to a new paper bag given to you with the shopping. When the plastic bag gets worn out, that is the time to recycle it and replace it with another discarded bag.
When you run out of discarded plastic bags do not pick up another with your shopping but instead take a proper shopping bag to the shops; one that is strong enough for several years of use.
As well as avoiding plastic bags we need to avoid packaging generally. It is often unnecessary and wastes resources such as fossil fuels, which are running out and have more vital uses. It also creates a disposal problem (scarce landfill or polluting incineration).
Best wishes for 2008. Let%26#039;s make it the year in which pointless packaging and plastic bags get the elbow. 41 years working for the UK Government Food, Agriculture and Environment Departments. 0% 0 Votes -
Very rarely accept a bag. But if i need to, i turn it inside out so as not to do their advertising for them.
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Cant stand plastic bags,,, i think shops should get rid of them and sell the reusable bags (the nice strong ones) or do what Lidl do, if you don%26#039;t get yourself a box or bring your own bag you have to pay for a plastic bag, i mean how many people would want to pay an extra 15-20 or 25p (or whatever your currency is) for a bag that gets holes in it as soon as it gets too heavy?!
When you look around outside to there is always a plastic bag flapping about somewhere in the bushes or trees, think of the poor animals that could get caught up in one of these bags. So yeah i dont like plastic bags. :o)