I was horrified

Wow ! I'm with you on that one kitty
I'm surprised there is still that amount of people who haven't got the message yet.
I always take my own bags food shopping. Anyone who shops in Tesco can get club card points for using their own bags.
I carry a one that folds into a little bag in my handbag too.

My nearest town where I shop is in Wales and all shops are obliged to charge for a carrier bag, so it does encourage you to take your own bag. I have 3 string bags which I keep in the car.

Yesterday I took a large hessian bag and all my shopping (toys, clothes etc.) went in there with no bags for individual items.

5p charge for every bag in Scotland. That's been in force for over a year and most people seem to have got the message!

I volunteer in a charity shop and find that increasing numbers of people bring their own bags.

My daughter is trying to have a plastic free July but is not finding it easy.

I remember when all the potatoes and carrots were sold loose from hessian sacks. Carrots kept so much better than now when they are kept moist in large plastic bags. When the bags are slit open at the supermarket the carrots have often already started to go soggy at the ends.

M&S in England charge for bags for food items. I still get the bags for clothing free of charge. What's wrong with England if the Scots and the Welsh can deal with this charge?

I fold bags up really small and always have a couple in my handbag and it often surprises shops when I say I have my own bag. We keep loads in the car for supermarket shopping but I don't see many other people doing it.

I carry two cotton bags in my handbag which fold up really small, so I always have a bag to use - hate the plastic ones anyway!

France has been charging for bags in many of the supermarkets for twenty years - you still get the thin sort for putting the loose veg in and if you buy any clothes they tend to give you one too. Lots of the clothing shops use nice paper ones.
The shopping bags you get here are very strong and cost less than €1 -last for years or until they are purloined by OH. I take them back to UK with me as so used to taking my own and I like the size and strength of the ones here - they have a variety of pictures on the side too.
I have a couple of lightweight folding ones in a little bag in my handbag - so handy if you get caught out!

I always take my own bags when I go into town, or local shops, but when my order is delivered from Asda, I`m amazed at how many bags they use unnecessarily. They`ll put one pack of Ibuprofen into a bag on it`s own, or one body spray, stupid and wasteful.

Sainsburys deliver with an amazing number of bags too. There are usually unused ones at the bottom of the box too.
I tip the stuff out and give the bags back to the driver.
Tesco will deliver without bags.

Another annoyance is when the checkout person puts items like meat and fish that are already in plastic in yet another bag. I don't put things with skins, like onions and bananas in bags either!

I think they do that, number because of the risk of cross contamination. If customers pack their shopping themselves then it's up to them, but the shop staff aren't allowed to put certain items in bags with other items. So raw meat, cooked meat, veg all in separate bags, household cleaning products etc in separate bag, medicines separate again and so on.

I can understand sometimes forgetting to take a bag but, like Bez, I use the bags I got from an Italian supermarket 5 years ago. They seem to be indestructible and it's a pity British supermarkets don't sell them too. Their used for shopping, taken on holiday for shopping and beach! did DD's house move, a number of picnics etc and look like they'll go on forever

Great value for money, wipe clean and take up little space.

I agree with loopylou about bags you get abroad. The problem with the free bags you get here is that they decided to make them biodegradable so they are very flimsy to start with and disintegrate almost immediately. Which is more environmentally friendly, a bag you can reuse or one that falls apart? And has anyone else had the experience of finding a pile of plastic confetti where there was a stash of bags?

I still take exception to paying for a carrier bag when buying clothes. I always take my own bag for food shopping but sometimes when you're paying large sums for clothes it really annoys me. The shops should bear that expense. Many use paper or card bags anyway. Recently I bought a posh outfit for a wedding -cost £350 +5p for a bag. The retailer was most apologetic. I suggested that they might find the 5p from their profits and the lady produced 5p and put it a charity tin. Seemed daft to me. Carrier still used. No reduction in packaging. No incentive to cut back on polythene.

It's the law. Where this law applies the retailer I.e. Asda for example, is breaking the law if they provide a bag. As would be the posh dress shop. A big fine is applicable if reported by e.g. a mystery shopper.

My issue is that its a badly thought out law.

But they couldn't make an exception for clothes shops or shoe shops would be wanting one too, and costmetics and toiletry suppliers.

The only items exempt from the law are prescribed medicines.

and my medicines are usually in a paper bag when I collect them! Years ago Safeway always used the US style brown paper bags.

I have a load of bags in the boot of my car and one of those fold away nylon bags in my handbag...most of the time. I often forget them in the boot and then just reload the trolley and pack it up in the car park!

Jane10 but the point is to reduce plastic by encouraging retailers to find alternatives/encourage customers to use reusable: so paper carriers would be OK as long as they are not covered in that shiny glazed paper which is tricky to bio-degrade.

I don't think even paper carriers are allowed, Penstemmon, although I may be wrong. I've certainly never come across any shop offering them.

Oh I though bio-degradable was OK! Will check it out!

www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-waste-and-recycling/2010-to-2015-government-policy-waste-and-recycling

www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/17/scotland-plastic-bag-usage-falls-after-5p-charge-introduced

Seems it is for 'single use' plastic bags.

Although plastic carriers are called biodegradable, my information (unless it's out of date) is that they are only photodegradable, so if they're buried in landfill they won't degrade.

The guidelines are a bit hazy. For example, Bags for Life are included in 'bags you don't have to charge 5p for' but they cost about 10p anyway!

I expect the reason shops don't provide free paper carriers is that it would cost them more.

I suspect you are correct Ana just google plastic bags and there are so many ads for bulk purchasing.

www.facebook.com/laralovecow

I know the person who makes these out of plastic bags. They are lovely and I have bought a few for presents for friends' birthdays.