How to beat the 5p bag charge!
We all have that draw or cupboard somewhere stuffed full of carrier bags that seem to breed and multiply when we’re not looking. The humble carrier bag has been a non-thinking part of our shopping life for so long now we don’t even seem to register them.
All that will change on October the 5th when the new law comes into effect regarding carrier bags. Stores will by law have to charge for each carrier bag used now to the tune of 5p.
Some stores have been doing this for a while Aldi for example has always charged for bags and the bags for life in other supermarkets have likewise been seen gracing the supermarkets for a while. But these are the sturdy, use them as many times as you like bags, not the flimsy , you’ll be lucky to make in home with the handle still in one piece ones. So why now?
Well very simply the government is set to try to reduce the amount of waste in produces, and a not insignificant amount of that is carrier bags. Not excepted by many recycling places and a Bain on the landscape they are not bio degradable and as they are free people seem to see them as worthless and treat them as such. This creates so much waste that it’s getting to be a problem.
It seems to be working out well in Scotland where it has been law for a while now, but at the same time if you’re not prepared for it, how will it really affect you?
Well 5p a bag is hardly anything at all, say you so your weekly shop and use 5 bags, well that’s only an extra 25p, so what!, but then later in the week you nip to Superdrug, that’s another bag and boots another one. You run out of milk and bread during the week so another couple of bags (you never just buy milk and bread do you?) so they keep mounting up, and again the odd 5p here and there won’t break the bank, but all those 5ps add up. If you used 10 carrier bags a week you would be spending a whopping £26 a year on bags that you would end up throwing away.
Without meaning to we over use bags as we see them as having no value and are easily accessible. The hope is that by putting a monetary value on them we think twice about being so blasé with them.
Some of you might have been using the bags for life for a while, the tote bags and other reusable carriers have become increasingly popular as people become more environmentally friendly (or want to reclaim that draw for other things) so here are my top 5 bags to help you cut down on what you might be throwing away, it’s time to bag a bargain!
- My absolute favourite and something I have used for a while are these bag key rings, not only do they come in loads of novelty styles but it means they are always handy and fold up really small so they are unobtrusive until you need them.
CLICK HERE to buy.
2. These shopping trolley bags are great, especially when you are doing the self-scanning with the wand as you can pack as you go, they fit into the trollies and are really strong, you can separate them to lift them into the car individually and the fold up quite small.
CLICK HERE to buy.
3. I know they are not fashionable, they are reminiscent of the granny and you probably think you would not be seen dead with one, but you would be surprised how many people that are not entitled to free bus travel are toting them around at the moment. There are loads of modern designs and it will help save your back and arms the strain. They are also a God send when you have small children and can’t juggle them, the bags, the pushchair and everything else at once.
CLICK HERE to buy.
