Why dont we use degradable paper bags for shopping in the UK like USA, this would solve the carrier bag issue?

Question

Why dont we use degradable paper bags for shopping in the UK like USA, this would solve the carrier bag issue?

Answer 1

i think this is a great idea using paper bags see  the plastic bags they take years to break down and get rid of and are very bad for the environment.

Answer 2

Because they'er a nightmare to use!  All those american movies where there is a woman with her groceries (allways with a french stick coming out of the top) in a large paper bag.  and then they give their kids their lunch in smaller ones.  It just looks stupid!  like having white eggs!  Things like that make me glad to be English!  In England I can carry about 12 carrier bags at once.  Those stupid American women who are just about to be stabbed by someone, and their kids with stupid haircuts can only carry one or 2 bags at once!

Answer 3

So long as the paper they're made from is itself recycled, otherwise you are just chopping down trees. Better to take your own existing bags.

Answer 4

I presume they are costly to produce and cannot hold much weight...which is no good if you are doing a weekly shop! The best thing to do is simply stop providing carriers at all. People will soon get used to the idea of taking there own bags to the shops.You can have bags that fold small enough to fit in your hand bag or pocket . Sainsburys re usable bags are large and very strong and I have been using mine for ages.

If people don't want to buy new bags they should re use the carriers they have instead of getting a new one every time they make a purchase. It really isn't hard to put one or two in your pocket before you go out.

Its just a matter of changing peoples habits and people quickly adjust if no bags are provided.

Answer 5

Paper tears and goes soggy too easily.  

I think we should use our own canvas, hessian, string or cotton reusable bags.  

You can even make your own and give it the personal touch, without advertising where you shop.

Answer 6

You used to only get brown paper ones in the likes of Tesco years ago, but as they backside always used to fall out of them, they switched to plastic ones. Go figure.

Answer 7

There are issues with paper bags too. Many UK supermarkets now have degradable plastic bags made from plant starches. However, the cost of these are still added to your shopping. Chose a supermarket that gives you points for using your own bags or charges people who don't bring their own bags for carrier bags. It is much kinder to the environment to reuse your own bags repeatedly than to use paper or plastic even if it is degradable.

Answer 8

Paper Bags have been proven that they can only be used once.  And they fall to pieces at the slightest sign of rain.

Answer 9

I don't know. I said this to my husband just the other day. I always take my own reusable bags along to the shops. I've had mine for almost a year now and they're still going strong.

I hate plastic bags!

Answer 10

I'm in the US, and I very seldom see anyone using a paper bag. Most of us use plastic because it's easier to carry (paper bags don't have handles), it's stronger, and it's leakproof. I recycle my plastic bags as garbage liners. Carrying your own reusable bag is a good idea, in theory, but I tend to make a few big shopping trips instead of lots of small ones, so I buy too much to fit into a single bag.

Answer 11

If you throw them in the landfill it doesn't really matter if they are degradable or not. Plastic bags will take up less space in the landfill, so in that sense they are more environmentally friendly.

Answer 12

Because they are hideous!

Answer 13

we should back to using non degradable plastic bags

Answer 14

If we would burn the trash to generate electricity ,and there would be no problem. The environmentalist wont stand still for that as in there mind it would be better to drown in trash.

Answer 15

Kill a tree or use a million year old tree (oil) you choose.

Answer 16

we are starting to be charged 5 pence per bag in m & s to make us cut down, they are having a laugh, we are already paying for thoose bags in this price of the food.

another way to make more money, a big scam.

Answer 17

Even paper bags are bad!  They encourage deforestation.  I always use my cloth bags.  Not only are they better for the environment they hold more, easy to handle, they don't tear and they get me a discount at some of my favorite shops!

Answer 18

why dont we just stop using both plastic and paper bags and take reusable bags with us to the shops? this would solve the problem entirely.