Shopping bag tax – has it changed your behaviour?
By Fleur
@Fleura (32435)
United Kingdom
October 10, 2015 1:53am CST
A few days ago a tax on single-use plastic bags (the very flimsy type that are barely strong enough to carry your shopping home even once) was introduced in England; a similar scheme has already been in operation in Wales for quite some time and data showed that introducing the charge in Wales had a big impact on the number of plastic bags littering towns and cities, beaches and countryside. But has it changed people’s behaviour here?
On the first day I was at my local shop waiting to be served while another woman bought a newspaper. She asked for a bag and when the cashier said ‘It’ll cost you 5p’ she exclaimed in disbelief (even though she must have walked past a big poster announcing the change by the shop door) and said she would put the paper in her handbag. Why didn’t she just do that in the first place?
I have been in the habit of carrying shopping bags with me for years now. For a long time I knew I ought to, but was often caught out when I was already out and realised I needed something. That really changed with the introduction of the sturdy ‘bag for life’ plastic bags that the supermarkets produced. I could fold those flat and they take up little space; currently I have 3 of them in my little ‘take everywhere’ bag along with my purse and other essentials so I’m always prepared. I have another three fabric bags in my car.
As a child, before plastic bags were ubiquitous (they were just starting to appear) you would often see women carrying bags and baskets. Then that stopped and it was only ‘out-of-touch’ old ladies who would be seen with a shopping basket. Now it seems to be acceptable again; I see people with bags, baskets and trolleys. I hope it becomes normal because those flimsy bags are a blight, in some places they festoon the trees, after winter floods they can be seen caught on branches all along the riverside, and when they reach the sea they are mistaken for jellyfish and eaten by turtles who then die a nasty slow death.
So, has the tax changed your behaviour at all, or is 5p not worth bothering about?
All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2015.
9 people like this
14 responses
@Fleura (32435)
• United Kingdom
25 Aug
@porwest It's sad that the man who invented plastic carrier bags thought he was producing a great thing that would help the environment because it would reduce the need to cut down trees to make paper bags. They could be folded up so small and were light to carry, he just kept one in his pocket in case of need. It never crossed his mind that people would use one once and then just throw it out!
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (482429)
• Italy
10 Oct 15
I remember when I was young, women had their own bags and baskets, nobody gave you a plastic bag and this was so much better. I have my bags that I always bring with me, but many people still pay every time for a new plastic bag that will pollute the planet.
2 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39504)
• United States
11 Oct 15
i keep hopin' they'll do the same here in the u.s. 's those plastic bags 'r jest awful 'n can be detrimental to the wild critters - both in 'n outta the water. i've had bags fer years, but the hubs refuses to take 'em with 'im. so, i wind up with a collection 'f the plastic 'n happily return 'em to the store to be recycled.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39504)
• United States
11 Oct 15
@Fleura i know, yet aint figured out why? the hubs swears to me that my bags 'f germs from the foods i've carried in 'em. hello??? its called wash 'em. funny he don't think 'f the germs folks 've put on e'ery item he touches whilst in the store shoppin'... heck, i'd be happy to go back to cloth bags fer sugar/flour 'n such 'n wooden crates to haul it all home in myself.
1 person likes this
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
13 Oct 15
Some cities charge for the bags, they are banned in Portland but I rarely shop there. I reuse my plastic grocery bags for my garbage pail. I know they're a problem glomming up the oceans, flying like strange flags from trees. But have you tried to make a trip to the grocery store and not buy any product that was packaged with plastic, at least in part? The Romans had lead in their paint and some historians claim it made them crazy. We have plastic in almost everything and if nothing else does it, plastic will do us in. Anyway, I know plenty of people who reuse those bags. I wonder why social controls are the go-to whenever it comes to environmental issues.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (32435)
• United Kingdom
13 Oct 15
I think they are more of a last resort. For years many groups have been spreading the message that these flimsy bags are a danger, but not enough people have taken notice. Some shops brought in their own schemes, such as giving a penny back for each bag you brought to use (I remember this about 20 years ago) and giving points for bag re-use, but again it wasn't enough. Maybe this will persuade a few more people.
@Fleura (32435)
• United Kingdom
25 Aug
It has definitely made a difference to the plastic waste all over the place, there are far fewer torn bits of flimsy bags hanging in trees etc these days (can hardly believe I wrote this post 10 years ago!)
The odd thing is that although at first people complained about the 5p charge for a stronger bag (since gone up to 10p I think) which can be used many times - I have several which have lasted years - many people instead opt to buy the big bags at a cost of one or two pounds each, but then they don't re-use those either, they are very frequently used to donate items to charity shops (and then just left), or used to collect rubbish and then just put in the bin, things like that. If people buy one with every weekly shop that's at least £50 a year just thrown away - why would you do that?
1 person likes this
@porwest (106348)
• United States
26 Aug
@Fleura At the end of the day for anything to truly work and make any significant impact, it requires the participation of the end user, and that's the part that's harder to achieve. Lots of people want change. Few people want to do their part, and instead, expect others to do the heavy lifting for them. Here in the States, we still have a lot of plastic waste, but there are better recycling efforts. For example, reuseable bags and the vests that Walmart employees wear are made from recycled plastic bottles.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
10 Oct 15
It has resulted in me carrying a folded carrier bag in my pocket these days. This was introduced by Asda many years ago, but was abandoned because everyone forgot to take their bag back and gradually moved to other shops. Of course now that it is across the board, it should work.
My only inconvenience from this is that I always used the old carrier bags to put rubbish in for the dustbin.
1 person likes this
@Rollo1 (16677)
• Boston, Massachusetts
10 Oct 15
We don't have any tax or deposit on bags. Some people use the reusable fabric bags. I use those sometimes because it is easier to handle bags with straps on them. My plastic shopping bags are used daily in practical ways, I don't know what I would do without my huge collection of disposal plastic shopping bags. I use them as bin liners, they are good for sealing up unpleasant trash before it goes in the bin, they are there waiting to be an impromptu tote. But sometimes I ask for paper bags, because I can put my recycling in them.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
10 Oct 15
That isn't something that is happening here thank goodness.
1 person likes this
@softbabe44 (5816)
• Vancouver, Washington
11 Oct 15
i got reuseable bags to also the plastic ones give way to easy
1 person likes this
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
10 Oct 15
It won't make any difference to me because I always refuse to accept a shop plastic bag anyway. I take a bag with me when shopping, or I put small items in the backpack I usually have with me.
I am delighted that this move is being made because of the harm that is done to the environment by discarded plastic bags. Plastic doesn't degrade and ends up in landfill sites or - worse still - the sea where it enters the marine food chain.
1 person likes this
@rahulvsmokiee (3110)
• Thiruvananthapuram, India
10 Oct 15
I always use used plastic bags. It dont cost and is environmental friendly
1 person likes this
