I was greeted at the checkout yesterday (pack of 4 veg samosa’s - £1.45) with a sign congratulating all of us who have helped reduce plastic bag use by 50%. I imagine we are all supposed to feel most virtuous by doing our bit to save the Planet (doomed anyway). But, hold on a minute. Just who is the biggest winner in this campaign? The annual plastic bag budget for a supermarket chain must be colossal. So they have a saving of 50% on that straight away. Us wicker basket users are offered extra Nectar Points for not using bags as some incentive, but most middle aged, middle class, middle income males don’t know their nectars from their elbows. So the supermarkets are on a pretty save deal there. Then - and this is the big one- many of us recycle the give away bags as bin liners. They're bit small, but free. So the supermarket looses out on bin liner sales as well. So next time you are in a supermarket demand a free plastic bag and a spare one to line the bin with! Gosh ! That’s another rant. Must be my age.
8 comments:
We all watched those films with slightly grungy cops played by Steve McQueen or Michael Douglas or whoever, and saw them going to a late night deli in New York to pick up a pizza and some milk before carrying it home in a big brown paper bag. Then we realised that it meant chopping down a Honduran rainforest. Thing is, I can't see Sam Spade or Phillip Marlowe carrying much authority when seen swinging along with an eco-friendly two handled hessian this-is-not-a-plastic-bag-OR-a-paper-sack creation from Anya Hindmarsh.
The world has gone mad.
I've always wondered why people bother buying bin-liners when you can so easily re-use most of the plastic bags you get for that very purpose.
Thanks for your contributions Chaps. Thinking about it, the humble supermarket plastic bag is probably one of the most recycled item we have. Very handy for wrapping dry clothes in on motorcycle panniers, or in rucksacks. Good for putting all the messy remains of a meal in before it goes in another lining the bin. Emergency rain cap. Endless possibilities.
The Sainsburys on Queens Road makes a perplexing effort to offend customers. The self service checkout machines actually shout at you whilst you queue for the human assistants. No doubt in the interests of efficiency and quality of service, customers will shortly be asked to help sweep up and stack shelves.
Yes Phil. I've noticed that too. I feel like asking the manager if there is a volume switch. We live in a world with far too much noise.
Rant away! They recently banned all pastic bags in...San Francisco, of course!
So, Vinogirl, what do you line your bins with?
Carrier bags...not banned in Napa, yet!
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