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05 July 2008

Reducing the Plastic Bag Mountain

Shopping in Scarborough this morning I was encouraged to note how at last we appear to have succeeded in bringing about a culture change in regard to the use of plastic bags. Until recently (and I also plead guilty to this) we were amassing plastic bags as if they were going out of fashion .. and how appropriate, because they have indeed gone out of fashion.

The routine at supermarket checkouts always used to be the same: your goods fly past the scanner, down the chute and you stuff them straight into a dozen or so plastic bags provided free of charge for your convenience. Then you get home, empty all the bags and add to them the rising pile of old bags that you stuffed away somewhere. You will never take them out with you again next time you go shopping. When one day you realise that you have no possible use for 150 crumpled plastic bags you sling them out with the garbage and they add to the refuse landfill site of non-biodegradable materials, that are rapidly turning holes in the ground into refuse mountains.

Now we are being encouraged to fork out 5 pence for long-lasting re-usable shopping bags, and I noted this morning how many people in the queue for the checkout were now carrying their own permanent or semi-permanent means of carrying their shopping. Hey! just like Grandma and Grandpa used to do!

If you think about it, the old habit of using these millions of bags at supermarkets was completely unnecessary. After all, most of us visit a supermarket using a car. When we get there we pick up a trolley, we fill it with goods, we run the goods past the checkout then we refill the trolley to take our shopping back to the car. Why do we need bags? Empty the trolley into the back of the car .. have a couple of handy boxes in there to make things easier .. job done!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Mr Riverman

How lucky am I! The fist one again to type in you book. I remember scarborough,I remember plastic bags to,the legacy we are leaving to our children,and there children, and so on and so forth.They were handy though if you happen to have wet pants!But not any more Mr Riv whats is name again, oh yes sorry Mr Riverman.You see I take TAMSULOSIN

This is an alcohol free day when you take TAMSULOSIN, unless you know differant.off and over from

anonymous

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr beck
My mum was using my computer looking for something i don't know what,she hit upon your web site,later on in the day she asked me to check you out.My mum thought that she knew you from some where way back,thought she had seen you on the TV being interviewed or on a show.Anyway your blog on the plastic bags reminded me of an incident which happen a few months ago.Mum and i were out shopping at one of Lidl super markets,they have what i think is a good idea.From the trolley you empty your shopping onto the belt, bring your trolley to the font of the check out,you then put the goods staight back into your trolley. Take it to the car just like you suggested customers should do.Now Lidl do supply plastic bags but you have to pay for them,i think the charge is 3p each.Aldi is another super market that works on the same principal,how sad am i 16years old talking about super markets.Purpose of all this,our trolley was loaded up with goods we went through the motions,mum brought the trolley to the front of the checkout.All hell broke loose,world war 3 with my mum at the centre of it,me looking on.The checkout lady raised herself from the seat and looked down into my mums empty trolley.Mum had been having a bad,"what are you looking for" she asked the checkout lady,just making sure the trolley is empty was her reply.Now we are not alone in this place,oh no but it did not make any difference to my mum she blanked all that out.WHAT!!at at the top of her voice,now my mum can shout when she as to she would have had the sergeant major looking on envyingly.Grabbing hold of my arm we just walked out of the super market,never never to return.We now go to Aldi,like i said they have the system. Thankyou. S.Stiff.