What do you think of paying 5p each for plastic bags in the UK?

Question

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/skynews/20080228/tuk-m-s-to-charge-for-carrier-bags-45dbed5.html

Answer 1

Gives the supermarkets a nice profit and also reduces their expenditure whilst getting them brownie points. They always win we always lose that is the way of the world. I for one am not very impressed. We take reusable bags for our shopping

Answer 2

If it encourages people to use reusable bags then all the better, hopefully all supermarkets will do the same.

Answer 3

i dont mind paying but i feel all this to save the planet is too little too late

Answer 4

I refuse to give any store extra money for a plastic bag.  I do carry my reusable bags in the boot of my car and make use of them.  Tescos gives you extra store points for every bag you bring and use.

Answer 5

good idea , people will think twice before using them and hopefully help to save the planet

Answer 6

It should be at least 20p. I see families at the checkout use up to 10 bags at a time, and I bet they do that for every shop every week. It's disgraceful.

I personally use an environmentally friendly reusable bag which I got from the library or my rucksack.

Answer 7

not a bad idea.  we always reuse ours for wrapping stuff we can't compost or re-cycle and for bin liners, but we still have loads left in the cupboard.

Answer 8

It has only just been announced, but the M&S I go into has been charging customers 5p for every plastic carrier bag in their food hall since the begining of the month (February 2008) and giving away their Plastic 'Bag For Life'.

Answer 9

Great idea!

People should be encouraged to avoid taking new plastic bags and consider other carrying methods.

Good move M&S!

Answer 10

Where does the 5p go. If it is into the profits of the retailers then I disagree with it. It will be fun when customers of M&S buy their food items and then place them in plastic bags from other retailers. As we use the pastic bags for waste at home I can see problems occuring.

Answer 11

Ah yes of course, it's to "protect the environment"... nothing to do with making extra money for M&S. Just like the congestion charges... why on earth would Ken Livingstone be in it for the money? He charges extortionate rates because he cares (!)

Answer 12

Well personally i take my own bag with me when i go shopping.I live near a supermarcado and the trees around about are festooned with a multitude of colored bags hanging from the bare branches.not a pretty sight.On the + side the store gives you 1penny for each bag you take,so you gain and the trees gain.

Answer 13

Stop them altogether - - TODAY......RIGHT NOW.

Answer 14

just another money making scam

Answer 15

It's a step in the right direction, but I wonder how effective it will really be, after all if people can afford the rather s****. and overpriced (and one has to say overpackaged) food at M&S they're not going to be short of a bob or too and may not mind the extra 20p or so for four bags.

Our local Aldi has always charged for the bags, plus they keep them in a really inconvenient place, plus it's a store people go into anyway to save money, so people don't seem to buy bags very often.

Answer 16

We pay for everything else and if it stops a bit of waste I don't mind. After all, it's a matter of choice. Let's all buy eco bags!!

Answer 17

Good idea.

I have a cupboard full of plastic bags - would gladly sell them for 5p each.

Answer 18

i live in ireland and can pay upto 30 cent for a plastic bag , i think its a great idea it makes people think if they really need a bag or not . for instance when i go to buy bread and milk i dont bother to buy a bag i can carry them in my arms or if i send one of my sons i send them wit a bag, i always have bags in the car for large shopping ,, these bags take hundreads of years to decompose affecting our plant its time we all stop and take a min to think dont you agree

Answer 19

I've been using my own bags for about 10 years.  Although I do use bags from supermarkets, when I have to.

I don't have much of a complaint about charging, but it does annoy me that manufacturers aren't more accountable.  It is only now that people have started developing bags that are biodegradeable.

I get my shopping from Tesco and although at first I asked for the "no bags" option, it was a nightmare.  The drivers are on a strict timetable and as a shopper, you are quietly harassed into hurrying up with your unpacking.  Much of my shopping comes in its own shopping bag, for some reason.  I would be outraged to be charged for the bags.

But I do hand them all back, the next week, for recycling.

Answer 20

I think it is a good idea. It will make people think about re-using them! My mum has all her plastic bags in a cupboard and she uses them for shopping and other duties.

Answer 21

do you work in gordon browns dept or alistair(THE DARLING'S)

OFFICE,,,,they are ever yet thinking up new ways to tax the British public(to pay for the incompetence of their their immagration policy)they would be better advised(they have not thought of it yet(too busy with motorists)i would personally put £10 tax on every packet of chewing gum sold in this country to pay towards cleaning this muck of every flagstone in the country)cigarettes and dog dirt disappear when it rains,this chewy muck has a 10,000 year shelf life and sticks to your shoes and carpets in hot weather it IS the filthiest habit on the planet ask Sir (cud chewer)alex ferguson and his contemporaries.

i buy garden refuse sacks,fill them,leave them in the (sunlight)garden and the bags disintergrate within 6 months so how does take a carrier bag a hundred years,,

make them out of the same stuff no problem

just another excuse to fleece money from us

Answer 22

With regard to M&S charging 5p for a carrier, it would be more to their credit to get rid of them alltogether. There is enough waste paper in this country, in the world infact to be able to recycle it and go back to Paper Carrier bags like we had up til the end of the 60's. Alternatively, they could sell naturalfibre(recycled) bags( made out of recycled clothes), and then put the money toward an environmental charity.

Answer 23

Forget all the stupid, emotive, politically-correct rubbish about "saving the planet". The fact is that the over-use of plastic bags constitutes a terrible waste of resources and needs to be stopped. What's wrong with taking a shopping bag (or bags) with you to the supermarket?. If charging for new bags makes people think twice, then it can only be a good thing. Makes a lot of money for the supermarkets too!!

Answer 24

in ireland we pay nearly 20 cent for them

Answer 25

It's a step in the right direction - but I think they should do away with bags like they do in France.  It hasn't caused any problems there and the French have been very accepting of it.

Answer 26

It will not save the planet - M&S cheap green advertising.

Answer 27

Think yourselves lucky. Its 15c here in Ireland. Bloody rip off. Only thing is they have reusable ones made of cloth, but they cost nearly €2

Answer 28

I use green carrier bags when I shop that have been in use for ages so i never use carriers anyway.  Think it was only M and S that are going to charge - they are going to give away reusable ones in April. And its only for their food departments

Answer 29

Its not before time.

Answer 30

I remember a time before free carrier bags, you always used to have to pay a few pence for them and if you go to Lidl they charge for bags too, it encourages people to reuse bags and boxes. I use the hessian bags that Tesco sell for £1, they are very strong and you can get a lot of stuff in them, I just have to keep remembering to take them with me when I go shopping!

Answer 31

I think it's a great idea if it encourages people to reuse bags. I've been reusing bags for years & I have a funky cow print shopping trolley too.