Now that Coles and Woolworths have a plastic bag ban in place in Victoria - where are you guys getting your bags from? What is the best value reusable bag? Does the $0.99 bag last at least 6.6X longer than the $0.15 bag?
My local Coles/Woolworths aren't giving the $0.15 bags for free.
I'm re-using my stash of old plastic bags. They're super compact so they're easy to just jam in your pocket when going in there.
I started loading up a couple of months ago so I should be good for a while!
Those whinging about the plastic bag ban can go ahead and make use of their empty balls sack to carry around their groceries
I'll get negged but this doesn't really do much for the environment. Supermarkets are still SELLING PLASTIC BAGS instead of given them out for free. This is a PR exercise for supermarkets about promoting their brand as environmentally friendly when in fact more than half of everything they sell comes in plastic wrappers or packaging.
And now it's reported that $71M in profit has been made in a week on plastic bag sales?
Anyone who things they are saving the planet by reusing a plastic bag is simply delusional.
Supermarkets are a private for profit business. There is no legal obligation for them to provide you with a free bag
Absolutely. but read some of the comments in this thread and others, and the news media. It's as if this change is going to save all the dolphins. eyeroll
My father in law told me "its a good idea because all your plastic bags end up in the ocean". Seriously. This is how people think when they listen to the absurd environmentalism being touted around.
It's a feel good exercise only, and a money maker for the supermarkets. GG governments, your 15 mins of feel good policy means supermarket profits simply increase.
I went to Japan last month and interestingly they haven’t banned plastic bags. In fact, everything is wrapped in plastic, multiple times. I was surprised by the amount of plastics they use for food packaging. It’s insane. But I guess the main difference is that most of the plastic actually gets recycled and not littered.
I bought 2 of these 12 months ago and they're fantastic. Pack up small enough that i can leave them in my car/work bag.
IKEA FAMILY price
$1.99
Regular price
$2.99
I'd just like to say…
I went shopping today, with no bags and 2 small children in tow, what I managed to do seems to be impossible to some people but non-the-less I achieved it all the same.
Now I did all the arriving and kid unloading and all that crap prior to this but once I walked into the shops I did these basic steps…
I'll keep it simple for the seemingly simple folk at their keyboards…
Step 1. I got a trolley
Step 2. I loaded up my 12 items
Step 3. I bought my 12 items at the self serve and put them back in my trolley
Step 4. I Loaded all the now purchased food and relevant people back into my car from my trolley and left for home.
Now I know that seems overly simple to some of you, yeah, the ones making their little protests and foot stomps like petulant little children, but it's amazing what you can achieve when u put your mind to it.
The key things you might notice, is I made no attempt to use a bag of any description, I did it all with two kids, and I did it all without crying, screaming, whinging or missing out on the thrill of destroying the environment because I'm a big sook.
Now for those who are playing along at home, here's my secret, here's what I used to manage this incredible task…
I used the two God damn arms I was born with.
Well done.
I do the same whenever I forget my bags. Take the trolley all the way.
Just be careful, all the triggered people will start taking into account additional trolley usage being bad for the environment.
If you read the OP, the scenario doesn't involve a car, a boot or a planned trip to the supermarket. he is talking about unplanned, walking past visits to the supermarket now being 15c more expensive.
Now for those that are playing along at home, if you read the original post it might help instead of posting something completely irrelevant.
so your life is 99% unplanned 1% planned? If its once off, no car, unplanned. Pay $0.15 and move along.
So you're obviously one of the simple ones behind the keyboard .
I too was an unplanned visit to the shops, but I still managed without the crying and foot stomping.
I still managed without the 15c of unaffordable bag buying.
If the OP didn't have a boot or a car then where was he planning on putting his shopping anyway.
I'll even offer the option of if he was at work and bussed or taxied to the shopping centre where they might work, where was he planning to store his groceries even if he brought his own bag, why did he need to shop at lunch and not wait till he was heading home, and again if he was heading home why couldn't he carry the few essentials in his hands.
Again… There are a miriad of ways to get by in this world without the need for plastic bags.
If the OP is making unplanned visits to The shops that require more than 1 or 2 items, that they cannot afford to get home in a 15c bag, or the OP cannot manage to carry without the aid of a bag, then maybe the OP needs to carry around a backpack or some form of small collapsible vessel that can fit into a pocket or purse (maybe some form of reusable bag brought from home, and previously acquired).
I know im just a simple idiot who posts irrelevant things, but I dunno it still seems to me that any way you look at it we, as supposedly the smart state (qld) ,we can get through the whole shopping process the way most of the developed world does,the same way that other states have done for years, without the need to constantly purchase extra 15c but just by using our brains and our arms.
Who said crying and foot stomping? People are allowed to complain about inconvenience that serves no purpose. This is a feel good environmentalism mad cash grab and does nothing for the environment in reality.
I'm glad you feel good about not using plastic bags while you buy your plastic coated shopping items.
I know im just a simple idiot
Could've led with that and saved us the trouble.
The fact that it’s a ban is stupid. Why they didn’t incentivise reusable bags and still have regular bags available to those that choose not to points to a money grab. There’s shittones of peple who have using their own bags for years. Why they needed to ban them suddenly is a symptom of a nanny state government approach.
@Skramit: It's not stupid. Been trying to get everyone to use reusable bags by options/education for years. Some people have learned, but too many haven't and maintained using the 'free' bags. It's got to a point where we need to stand up for what is best not easiest. Wasting perfectly good plastic on single use shopping bags isn't the best idea, we could be using that plastic to make useful, long lived products.
Sure, it looks like a money grab 'making you pay' for plastic bags, but the reality is that eventually a bean counter in the back office will work out that the money they've saved by not handing out free bags can be used to undercut the opposition's prices or provide better service for the customer.
If you are so worried about the Woolworths/Coles profiteering from the plastic bag thing buy some shares and reap the rewards.
stand up for what is best
But it's not about the environment. If it was, they would ban plastic packaging as well, install more efficient lighting, stop selling disposable nappies and disposable batteries etc etc. All modern human convenience items that "hurt the environment".
It's a PR exercise to generate corporate good will and profit. Successfully might I add, given folks like you (no offence) have bought it hook line and sinker.
@Skramit: One thing at a time, every bit helps etc etc. Pick the easy thing first, then move onto the next. They are installing more efficient lighting already as it comes off the bottom line very quickly. The other stuff where they have no accountability for the plastic packaging will come. As a relatively wealthy nation we should be leading the way with bag bans etc, not lagging years behind the rest of the world.
You keep your cynical corporate greed hat on, others will keep their better environmental result hats on.
@Euphemistic:
I do consider myself a pragmatist / realist when it comes to these issues.
For example I used the plastic bags as bin liners in my bathroom. Where as I chuck out most (probably all) plastic food wrappers straight in the bin. It has no second use.
The stupidity / hypocrisy / irony / whatever of this change seems obvious to me (and some others in this thread). Where as the majority clearly are happy to "feel good" they are helping the environment without a second thought. Good for you but I'll take my cynical view any day over your idealist fairy land.
That's what I do, when I forget my bag.
Congrats. No one is saying it's impossible. People are saying it's inconvenient, does not help the environment, and only serves to make the supermarkets money and people like you feel superior. I guess I should be glad it's not just the big stores benefiting.
12 items small shop then, wait till kids are screaming and do a week's worth
I used the two God damn arms I was born with.
No you didn't! You used your two God damn hands AND both your kids' God damn hands to carry 12 items.
Loaded all the now purchased food and relevant people back into my car.
And then you contributed to global warming with the CO2 from your God damn car!
What if i only have 1 arm?? lol, or ppl with disabilities?
You drove a car?!
A big, dumb, diesel-fed SUV I'm betting. They can hold a lot of tinned formula, hey?
So the poor sucker without personal transportation who needed bags did 0.0001% of the environmental damage your bagless-urban-breeder-SUV did.
Bravo!
I bought a large beautiful waxed canvas and leather bag (I carried 8 1.8L iced tea bottles in it at once and it was still comfortable!) which I can fold up. It will last me a lifetime, but even if it lasts only 10 years that's about 25c a week. Buying quality once, rather than as cheap as possible multiple times, is a bargain too!
large beautiful waxed canvas and leather bag
What do you do when the blood from the meat leaks out into your bag?
I can confidently say I have never been wealthy enough to buy leaky meat which is wrapped in fancy paper (that's what they do right?).
Blood, meat and leather are meant to be together.
the smell isn't! haha
leather bag
Feel sorry for the animal died in the leather. Plastic bag may or may not kill an animal, but at least one animal die for your bag. Shame on you.
Hahahaha! Bet your one of those naive souls that doesn't think that the wheat in their vegan pizza didn't kill dozens of small animals during harvesting. Get over yourself. Everything dies so that others may live. Always been that way, always will be. If that leather bag really does last 10 years, it'll save more lives (fish and other animals) than you could imagine. Not to mention help change aussie culture to re-use from recycling (a miracle in of itself).
Hahahaha! Bet you're one of those illiterate souls that cannot read sarcasm.
Woolworths actually discontinued the best type of reusable bag I found. They were made of nylon so could be washed and fold up very small. They are just like the grey bags but just not plastic and fit on the bag frame the same with an elastic loop. They looked like this:
http://www.allpromobags.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/FO…
They should bring these back.
If the supermarkets were serious about plastic use, they should start with the excess of packaging on everything in the fruit and veg area, reduce or change the plastic bags on roast chickens, etc. Unless they look at everything, this will always seem like a money grab or overhead cost saving. I actually think this bag ban will reduce sales considerably. People will simply rethink whether they need the hassle of carrying an item home.
Aren't they the 99c foldable Bag shown here. Looks like they still sell them:
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/discover/reusable-bags?ic…
The foldable bags look really good convenient, washable and long lasting. I have never seen them in store. Maybe the profit margin is lower and they hide them. Look a bit like these
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/6-Style-New-Fashion-Printing…
If you find yourself unable to grasp the concept of carrying reusable bags for spontaneous shopping trips maybe its time to join the secret club of Aussie Disposal Haversack satchel users. You'll get to be part of the secret community who give nods to each other when spotted on the street and somewhere to put your items without having to worry about plastic/reusable bags. If you have one, you know what I mean.
https://www.aussiedisposals.com.au/camping-gear/backpacks-ba…
Sounds like a cult. (Or a subtle advertisement/shill)
Bought hot chicken, couple of 2 Litre milk bottles and some other items today and although the 15 cent plastic bags are free at Woolies for a limited time, it seems staff are limiting how many they give out. Packed all my items into one bag, hot chicken next to milk, etc.
Their hot chickens really need to be double bagged separately and maybe review how they package hot chickens, they have a 50/50 chance of leaking oil everywhere from their original packaging, a zip up plastic bag. Having to clean up the oil spill from a chicken really wastes resources.
Packed all my items into one bag, hot chicken next to milk, etc.
That's kind of ridiculous unless you wanted curds by the time you got home. I'd have told them to bag them separately and brought a manager over if they refused.
I might just use their trolleys to take my stuff home.
I have been caught out by not having a bag on me when I go to pick up milk after work etc. Simple solution. I bought one of those little roll up bags that I can just stash in my bag. Easy as.
There are other options… We could use the no plastic bags from Avani. Made using cassava starch, vegetable oil, and organic resins.
They are "100% bio-based" biodegradable and compostable, breaking down over a period of months on land or at sea, or instantly in hot water.
Apparently they leave no trace of toxic residue.
Cassava is delicious. Why would you waste that on bags?!
On a more serious note though…. if it breaks down instantly in hot water, how reliable is it used to carry potentially hot items like roasted chicken?
or you could slice the bag into thin strips, curl with a fork to get some height, and sprinkle with fresh parmesan and basil.
I'm waiting for the day when I'm at the checkout and someone whips out a condom from their wallet to put their purchases in.
That bag definitely should not be reused.
I just started growing my own food at home. I won't pay for plastic bags.
I just don't get it. After all these years, human still haven't invented some cheap and durable bags that is environmental friendly?
We have. No one uses them. It's like almost every other consumer good - we had electronics and white-goods which were durable, lasted decades, and were easy to DIY repair if they broke. Nowadays though, because it's cheaper, we have electronics and whitegoods which don't just break down every few years but are effectively designed to, are impossible to fix yourself, but hey - they cost a tonne cheaper.
Apply that to plastic bags.
just do your shopping at asian groceries store… they still give you plastic for free :D
99 cents a bag re-usable , need 10 ekkkkk mongrels, $10 poorer. Bring back paper bags disgusting making them rich.
Use the Bag for goods from Woolworths. Cost me $3 or so but they say if it’s broken they will give you new bag for free, permanently
On a related topic: Any garbage bag alternatives (preferably free) when my stash of plastic bags eventually run out?
In the short term, I'll shop more at local fruit shop where they still provide free bags.
As an OzBargainer, I really don't want to pay for garbage bags.
Lots of products still come in what amounts to a plastic bag (chips, frozen stuff, bread, etc). You could use those packets.
Blue ikea bags
you mean like what homeless people sleep in?
Yeah, I know what they are
I've seen homeless people sleeping in them before
Yes! Came here looking to see if someone else was using these. Can fit my entire shop into 1 most of the time.
ugh. another thread for people to cry about not getting free bags
even though there is a bag ban, I still don't need to buy bags for a while
Between my 2 housemates and their friends , in the last 2 weeks ive collected about 50 15 cent bags from woolworths, many more have ended up in the bin when I wasnt around to save them. The topic has been discussed and they wont be changing, 15 cents to them means nothing over convenience.
It proves that this is pointless, some people wont change, they should have done a soft ban, keep single use bags, ask do you need a bag, charge a flat 15 cents per shop , or maybe give some rewards/flybus points if you don't take a bag instead
I've got some ozbargain carry bags from the last meetup.
Keep a couple of plastic milk crates in your boot - seem to be able to "pick them up" everywhere and put them in your trolley before entering shop, fill them as you go around, empty them on checkout counter and refill as your groceries are processed. Makes it really easy to get gore shopping into the house when you get home. Alternatively if you are too shy to shop with crates in your trolley, leave them in your boot and stack them into crate when you return to your boot with your trolley. SIMPLES and cost effective….
Say, has anyone talked about going to an asian grocer? They still have plastic bags. I usually buy nibbles and cup noodle there and use them to line my bins etc.
Think so. That's what I'm going to be doing if I run out of my plastic bag stash at home.
i reckon they should offer foldable plastic crates that fit in their trolleys and stack easy … id much rather buy those for a few bucks each
But there is nothing to stop you doing that now. They might not have the crates at supermarkets but you can get them elsewhere, make sure they fit within a trolley, done.
well a quick look and the cheapest i can find is $27 … as if anyone is going to buy those (seems officeworks used to sell similiar for $10, so coles/woolies should be able to get millions of em made and sell em for $5 each easy, which id happily take)! And i have no idea how well it would fit in the standard colesworth trolley which is pretty important for those of us who generally fill the trolley when shopping (and i sure as hell aren't taking a tape measure with me next time i shop to find out).
On another note this whole scheme is a mere drop in the ocean compared to their pointless excess packaging which is the real culprit. Next time you see videos of those mountains of plastic, tell me how many shopping bags you see mixed in the pile.
Grab 2-3 shopping basket then grab a trolley and put shopping basket there.
Do your shopping as usual and during checkout, just put everything in the basket that's on the trolley and push it out to your car and unload basket into your car then return the trolley to trolley bay.
forget to say, if you dont drive then just the basket out with you
you can save more time by skipping the checkouts, just walk out with all the stuff you want
good idea, might try that tonight! I love ozbargain, you learn a new way to save money everyday!!
As others have said, the free plastic bag ban is just good marketing from the supermarkets' point of view. Anyway, the environmental problem was not caused by the plastic bags, or the supermarkets, but the irresponsibility of how Joe and Jane average disposed of the bags once they got home, i.e. bin it - out of sight, out of mind. Recycling them was never that difficult, but just too hard for most.
Have had this in South Oz for a few years now. After a lot of amassing the 15 cent bags we slowly got used to taking bags when going shopping. We now have a sturdy insulated cooler bag in which we put the cheaper 15 cent bags and take to the shops. The thing is to get in the habit of when finished unpacking the shopping to put the bags back in the car boot as not to forget them next time.
Same here in Tassie. I have a bag of bags in the back of the car and just take one in when I go.
It wasn't a big deal when they stopped plastic bags. Just got used to it. Nobody really complained. Sometimes it's annoying when you forget your bag and have to pay 15c but who cares. If you throw out the bags it's your own fault for wasting money.
Pick up some boxes from you local shops, leave it in the car, and use it when you going shopping.
And when the box get old, throw it in recycle bin.
Better than plastic containers.
I was going to try to remember to take some reusable bags to the shops each time, leave a couple in the car for 'emergency' use etc, but it appears I would need to as obviously the world is ending now we can't get free plastic bags.
I used a jumbo black garbage bag and two sandwich bags today at Coles, had to use self service because they didn't like the garbage bag :(
I have saved some of the old foam burger containers McDonald's had, they never biodegrade and I can use them for cherry tomatoes etc
I came here to recommend the Aldi cooler bag, especially in summer but unfortunately it can't carry all the emotional baggage in this thread.
This is such a first world problem. ACT has had this since 2011 and South Australia before that.
For those who are not used to it, keep some spare bags in your car/backpack etc for when you shop on a whim. It will save you some money.
It didn't need to be a problem, other than supermarkets wanting more money and people being ignorant about the science. Literally making a problem out of thin air.
They've banned them in Somalia as well https://www.dailysabah.com/africa/2018/07/04/al-shabab-terro… :P
Honestly, I don't know why Woolies and Coles not even try using brown bags.
Works totally fine in US
What's the big fuss? The inconvenience? The "profits"? Just carry a damn spare bag. I've been living in the UK for the past 2 years now and the same ban was put in place in a few years ago. It's resulted in a drastic reduction of plastic bag waste. Move on!
well if you like it so much why not buy a ticket back there and,well you know,and if you need somebody to drive you to the airport ring a cab
I'm still here in the UK. The public transport here is great and I've never found myself needing to use a black cab.
Can you consider the environment for a second? Have a read of this to get some perspective: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/30/england-…
If you see a turtle in plain sight and it's safe to drive around it, would you 1) drive over the turle and have no regard for its life, or 2) drive around in a safe manner?
Now that Coles and Woolworths have a plastic bag ban in place in Victoria
Man they've also started it over here in Perth WA as well….just bought like 20 boxes of Doritos and no complimentary plastic bag(s) to have them in……….had to juggle them all out of the shops… ಠ_ಠ
The cartons wouldnt fit in the bags?
no not those packets in those half cut/opened boxes, the smaller ones (that aren't sold as a packet, but as a folded up box, which is yes inside one of those big half cut opened boxes cartons you're probably referring to which has like 50 or so of these smaller boxes in it…) that are usually shelved next to shapes…..
dorito crackers, thats what they're called….
I just stick the trolling in the boot.
trololol
The 15c bags at woolies are free if you scan them. I’ve been scanning tons of them and bagging them up for garbage bags xD
not in Canberra,every form of business thinks everybody especially pensioners and every other person living under the poverty line have a politicians income including this GREENS LABOUR COALITION party of Canberra.
You're the reason we have the bans.
Is this an eastern states problem of changing the mindset? Haven't a few other states transitioned (statewide ban, not just coles/woollies) and have now adapted?
Ikea sells little bags that can be folded into smaller than a wallet size, carry those around for spontaneous buys.
For bins, there are so many other sources of plastic bags (including the fruit/vege plastic bags). We use the thin fruit/veggie bags for plastics, and all food waste goes into green bins. Recyclables go to recyclables, and we still have heaps of plastic bags so bin lining isn't really a problem.
In regards to reusable bags, trust me, I have reusable bags that are almost 9 years old now.
Sure, initially everyone has to buy a bag. But the exercise is there to train a less 'throwaway' mindset. It's inconvenient at first, but once everyone owns a bag, and leaves a few in their car, has small foldable ones for spontaneous buys, then we will be better off in the long run.