Two eco-surprises at the shops today

I love the paper bags with little handles that Fat Face offer you when you buy from them! They are free and I always keep them and try to re-use. Why don’t more shops do this? Not only are the bags an advert for their shop, they are much more “eco friendly”. I am sure that when I was a child (many years ago!!) all of our food shopping used to be put into paper bags. Didn’t sugar used to be sold in thick blue paper bags?

pinkquartz Why not get several of those fabric bags that fold up into their own teeny bags? They sell masses of them on a rack at our local garden centre and many other places too. I always have one in my handbag. If you want to send others out shopping, just hand them one of those. None of us really need any plastic ones now. Also, remember string bags? They've made a come-back too. Not expensive and thoroughly re-usable.

Some of the worst offenders are the large bakeries. I have started buying Warburtons white sliced bread because it is the only one that does not come in a plastic bag. I much prefer brown bread, but need ready sliced loaves because I cannot slice a loaf to save my life. I have tried going to the bakery section and getting them to slice it for me but it doesn't last as long and even then they put it in a plastic bag! Very frustrating

Lack of bags is a good thing as not all people dispose of them responsibly which I frequently find when taking walks on a local beach.I prefer to large shop rather than bits here and there so find cardboard boxes shops leave out for us are ideal to be put in a trolley ready to take out to the car park. These boxes last a long time and eco friendly.

I agree with Humbertbear.
We bought about 20 items recently in a US supermarket and the cashier packed them in at least 15 plastic carrier bags. My US host unpacked and threw the bags into the general rubbish. I told her I would've used them as bin liners and she opened a large drawer full of bought liners of all sizes.
The UK efforts need to be matched by the rest of the world.

Caro57 I do that too, great for stuffing knitted toys! I also dismantle anything useful from an item before I recycle in case I should need anything. Nice buttons on a garment for instance that could be reused.

I’ve dismantled polyester pillows for their stuffing - recycling if nothing else!

so many funny posts here, funny ha! ha! I mean

huh to supermarkets ditching free plastic bags,,, what about the plastic they use for veggies, meat etc.... duh!!

and yes, little bits,, it`s a start,, but a long, long, way to go yet..
lets keep on keeping on

lol I too thought sage and onion stuffing at the beginning

Everything we are doing here pales into significance if you go shopping in Colorado where every purchase, no matter how small, comes in a plastic carrier bag

Well, it's not what I stuff my turkey with OP, but I could give it a try!

WhenIwasyourage the 30p veg bags in sainsburys seem to be well made and pretty comparable with my much more expensive ones I got from an eco shop!

Went to Morrisons last week and was surprised to find loose apples you can put into paper bags and local eggs, 20p each, I can select any amount and put into biodegradable egg boxes. Well done Morrisons, keep it up.
I have reusable shopping bags and look for as little plastic packaging as possible.

Me too, wheniwasyourage - they're see-through so are no trouble to the cashier. They're Veggio bags if anyone wants to research them.

Lakeland sell bags for using for loose fruit & vegetables. they are made of cloth which can be washed, are very light and have drawstrings. You get 5 in a pack and there are several sizes. I use them in Tescos and the till operators have commented favourably on them several times.

watermeadow, you are right about using markets, but sadly they are not as common in Scotland as they are in England, so it's not an option for many of us.

Good for you wildswan our house never uses plastic bags either.

Although I do sometimes wonder if my individual effort of not using plastic makes any appreciable difference - I always make the effort. Every little bit must help.

There are 66 million people in the UK. If everyone just used one less plastic bottle or bag every day ....

Good on those companies who are at least trying.

Thumbs down to the crotchety old grans who moan because it upsets their plasticky little lives and are so negatively.

Our local supermarkets, whilst making a HUGE shout about going 'no plastic' with their bags, still have them but now you have to pay for them and they are stmped with the comany logo.
Still thousands of those flimsy plastic bags on rolls for all the veg, fruit and bakety good of course.

pinkquartz what will you do when they run out? You will buy one of the many dozens of commercial bags still sold all over the place, including the 'no plastic' supermarkets, for rubbish bins and other uses.

'Greenwash' is right LondonGranny but I think most of us knew all along that it was a scam.

The penny will eventually drop with the rest of the population - we will never get rid of plastic, it is far too versatile and useful.

Bluebelle Me too - it gave me a laff when I saw what it was really about.

My local bakery and M&S both package their bread of all types, in quite strong paper bags which have a cellophane window on one side.
When I've used the bread, I empty the crumbs out, fold and reuse when I buy soft skinned fruit and loose veg. Oranges apples lemons and thick skinned fruit go straight in a drawstring cloth bag.
The paper bags can also be used to hold food waste in the caddy,

I was pleased to see the reusable bags for sale today.But I generally just put any loose veg straight into my basket /trolley anyway.Pop them on the conveyor grouped together by type -so today some large carrots,some satsumas,peppers and broccoli - and the cashier never quibbles about them being loose.Then straight into my cloth bag.Which I wash regularly.But I will buy the odd 30p bag if I'm getting a lot of smaller veg.

MamaCaz, quite often, duvets are given away on Freecycle and the filling would be great for stuffing toys. Nil cost to you!

Barclays Bank are also pulling out of cash points in rural post offices, Calendargirl so the withdrawal of plastic biros pales into insignificance when everyone has to drive miles to the nearest town, even assuming there is a branch there anyway. Hollow gesture which saves them money but costs their clients and the planet.

Wouldn't wool stuffing attract moths? There was that story about a couple who thought they were doing the right thing by installing woollen bats when insulating their home. Yes, it all had to come out poor things.

Support your nearest market! No plastic on cucumbers, pick up as many tomatoes as you want and everything’s half the price of the same in a supermarket. I ask for paper bags, not plastic but most fruit and veg goes straight into my shopping trolley.
I cook my pet food in bulk then freeze in reused frozen veg bags and any other plastic bags which are washed and reused.