So I was at Colesworth today buying some groceries and I was forced to buy plastic bags to put my stuff in. It made me realise that I don’t actually use fewer plastic bags, it just means I’m paying for them instead of the supermarket. Nice little scam they’ve got there btw. Have you cut down on the number of plastic bags you use at the supermarket?
Do You Actually Use Fewer Plastic Bags Now We Have to Pay for Them?
Comments
In kg? Doubtful.
My rubbish output is the same. Just my source of free bin liners has been removed
You all realise Woolworths has announced it is removing those reusable 15c shopping bags from sale, don't you?
When it was announced I asked the staff there what I was supposed to carry my shopping home in. They didn't know. Presumably everyone doesn't bring their bags back will have to pay Woolworths 99c each for as many of the thick green bags they sell. And the question is whether that will generate MORE plastic waste from those people like the OP who don't or can't bring their old bags back.
Only old people that are stuck in their ways (gee I wonder why we’re in this situation as they taught us nothing about reducing waste) use plastic bags. Sensible people use reusable bags, boxes or take the trolley to the car, to name a few.
Do you remember what they used pre plastic bags in supermarkets?
I repeat for those those people who negged me for some incomprehensible reason. Perhaps that they didn't actually read what I wrote.
Woolworths is removing its current REUSABLE 15c shopping bags from sale.
This will mean that people like the OP who can't or don't bring their bags back will have to buy thick heavy 99c reusable bags, and when they throw those away after every time they go shopping they will generate MORE plastic waste.
I buy 4-5 every week and they go straight to landfill unfortunately
Hand in your OzBargain license. Why don’t you use reusable bags, boxes or take the trolley to the car?
Of course some of us "old people" don't take their car to the supermarket. So they don't pump CO2 into the atmosphere doing that. As well as reusing our shopping bags.
I’m glad you live close to the supermarket but my point was old people in general taught us nothing about using less and considering the environment.
@bobwokeup: ummm…… old people were all about making something out of nothing, people who lived through the great depression had nothing and they re-used everything and they definitely passed that philosophy on to their children and grandchildren
@Qazxswec: They were probably referring to people like the Baby Boomers, not people who are long dead.
@Qazxswec: No those old people have passed away a long time ago. The ones alive today over 50 taught us nothing, they just expected kids to listen to whatever garbage that come out of their mouths. We know more now and actually talk/listen to our kids. You should try it one day it’s not too late.
@bobwokeup: no, those people were our grandparents and they taught us alot before they passed away, maybe yours didnt, i know mine did, and my parents seconded these teachings
@Qazxswec: You must be one of the very few boomers who actually have a 2 way conversation and listen to their kids. I’ve never met a boomer that considers the environment or doesn’t “expect respect” because they’re older, so I’m glad to hear that your experience was different to the majority.
@bobwokeup: im not a boomer, my parents are boomers, judging by your name, you are much older than me
@Qazxswec: If you think boomer parents taught their kids (not you as you’re parents aren’t like the rest) a lot about anything environmental then you have a lot to learn. I’m older and wiser that much is clear.
*edit - oh you’ve only been a member for a year so I guess you’re fresh out of high school?
@bobwokeup: maybe your parents didnt teach you so you assume that everyone's parents were like that, but that isn't the case, a lot of boomer parents taught their kids about water waste, food waste, waste in general and about re using things, a lot of parents also didn't, obviously your parents didn't, but that doesn't mean that that was the norm just like how the way i was raised and taught might not be the norm either, in our own conceived realities it seems like both the way we think and perceive the outside world is "how it really is" but we both have conflicting beliefs that are both true and false at the same time, but the real truth is somewhere in the middle, and to be honest, it wasn't the parents who weren't teaching us, it was us kids who weren't listening to the lesson
@Qazxswec: I wasn’t talking about my parents I was talking about boomers in general. Until you’ve been on this earth a little bit longer and had kids you might understand.
@bobwokeup: yeah i think you might be projecting your perceived reality onto everyone else and assuming that is the actual reality, boomers arent the people who wasted things, that is more gen x/gen y cause they had everything they ever wanted/needed, it is the millennials who are trying to pull this behaviour back, you are right in that previous generations didn't care but you just have the wrong generation, we were the problem, not our parents, its time you own that
@Qazxswec: So what generation are you referring to when you say we? If boomers taught us like you claim then we shouldn’t even be having this conversation.
@Qazxswec: They spoke at us and didn’t teach us anything when it comes to using less and thinking of the environment. I’ve given up trying to educate them as they don’t want to listen and they’re stuck in the ways, it’s a fact most are like that.
If you can’t see that then you need to open your eyes and actually observe.
@bobwokeup: again, you keep relating and comparing your parents and the elders in your life to the society as a whole, not everyone was like that,
sounds like you got some stuff to work out about the relationship you had with your parents, hopefully they are still alive so you can sort it out and make peace, good luck my friend@Qazxswec: No I’m only talking about baby boomers who are the ones alive and the reason we are in this situation. I deal with boomers everyday at work.
I don’t see my parents often as my kids are my priority. If I was naive like you I wouldn’t admit that they are stuck in their ways and don’t like change like a huge majority of boomers.
@bobwokeup: no you were talking about your parents and the people who raised you, that is why you used the past tense "spoke" and not the present tense "speak", like i said, it sounds like you have a lot of sub conscious things going on in that head of yours that you don't even realise, its ok mate, you had a few good swings but ultimately you missed, just let it go, agree to disagree
@Qazxswec: Yes they spoke at me rather than having a conversation and I’ve accepted that however that is how that whole generation still speaks to people so it’s not past tense.
Bit rich coming from the one who claimed their parents taught them everything but also said millennials are fixing things! Which one is it?
@bobwokeup: i didn't claim to fix things as in being an advocate or anything, but the millennials are being advocates, especially in the age of social media, once again, you are putting a whole generation into a specific category, that is what is known as stereotyping, a practice used to basically assume(often in a negative way) that a group of people will act and behave a certain way, my parents did teach me those ways, i lived my life by those ways but wasn't too outspoken about it other than in person, but with social media, people of the millennial demographic are outreaching to a much wider audience which is making the issues more known, so to answer your question, i was never claiming to fix the problem in a capacity more than just doing my part and trying to influence others i come in to contact with, compared with now which a whole generation is doing what they can do plus also using technological advances to reach out to as many people as they can.
Now its obvious to see i have clearly won this argument as you get more and more backed into a corner with each reply i give you, so here are you options, either concede to defeat or agree to disagree, I'm offering you a way to save face, please take it and move on because I'm growing tired of this pointless discussion, all the best on your journey for acceptance and inner peace my friend@Qazxswec: You had changed my mine (partially) until I read the “I have won this argument” and that’s when any adult would move on. Good luck with your perfect life millennial.
@Qazxswec: It did get heated for no reason and at the end of the day we’re both advocates, so that’s what we both should have focused on.
@Qazxswec: Likewise mate and I should have listened to you earlier to agree to disagree, as we’re both entitled to our opinions. I let my emotions get the better of me as I’m passionate about the topic and I also went about it the wrong way.
@bobwokeup: In line, the cashier says to an elderly woman:
- Madam, you have to carry your own shopping bags because these plastic bags are not eco-friendly!
The old lady apologized and
responded:
In my time there was no such "green wave".
This is our problem today, madam.
Your generation didn't care enough about the environment.
-You're right-the lady replied. Our
generation didn't care enough for the
environment. Glass bottles of milk,
soda and beer used to return to the
store. The shop would return them
back to the factory, where they were
washed and sterilized before using
them again and again. We really didn't
care about the environment back in
the day. We even washed the baby
diapers because there were no
disposable ones. We dried them
ourselves, not in electric dryers.
Those diapers were really drying from
the wind and sun. We really didn't care about the state of
the environment back in our day. Back
in our day we only had one TV and
one radio in the house, not one TV per
room. And the TV had a 14 inch
screen, not the size of a stadium,
which when it broke, would be thrown
out of nowhere. In the kitchen, we had
to do everything by hand because.
there were no electrical appliances to
do everything for us. When we mailed
something fragile to pack, we used
old newspapers, not nylon bubbles
and styrofoam balls that take 500
years to decompose. Back in the day we didn't use petrol
lawn mowers to mow the lawn, they were mechanical and we used our muscles to move them. The workouts were amazing and we didn't have to go to the gym to get fit. You're right, we didn't worry about the
environment in our days. We used to
drink water straight from the tap, not
from the plastic bottles and cups that
now fill the oceans.
There wasn't really a 'green wave' in our days - back then we all got on the
tram or bus, boys used bikes or
walked to school instead of using
their parents as a 24-hour taxi service.
So isn't it amazing that the current
generation talks so much about
"environment", but is unwilling to give
anything up and think of living with
little like I did back in my day!
Now that you've read this rant, send it to your friends who are over 50, and to young people who have it all in their hands and only know how to criticize the elderly!!!
@Waltervp: Didn’t read it. You’re one of those old people that sends stupid forwards on and doesn’t adapt with the times. I get it you don’t like change so don’t comment.
@Waltervp: must be the lead in the petrol that went to the head.
how's that HEP virus or tapeworm infection going with that unclean glass bottle that was returned and haphazardly washed?
oh wait, what about the fancy ink that is used to print on newspapers that poisoned people?
are you comfortable talking about iridium on that nice glowing clocks and abestos powder?
how about dirty coal?
mechanical lawn mowers? lol. remember DDT and agent orange? ohhh wait, these are too inconvenient to talk about is it because it doesn't go with your narrative of 'good old days' of mono-race culture and killing/beating women who don't get to vote?
also your time line is shit. one part you talk about trams and buses and another part talking about not using petrol. where the hell do you think powers them?
did they not teach critical thinking and english or even typewriting formatting in the good old days too?
@bobwokeup: i hope he sends it via snail mail because email is way too high tech for mechanical lawn mower users like this ok boomer.
@slowmo: Yeah true that. He probably pays someone to mow his lawns for him!! I love mowing my lawn but to suggest you could get fit whilst doing it is a laugh …he’s definitely retired and doesn’t have a comeback himself!
@bobwokeup: Was typed on an Apple IIe … or was it TRS-80 all the same to me. I won't pollute with silly stuff anymore, because it is much more fun to read the bullying or intimidating or other senseless comments written by the minority on these threats. Can't believe the reaction of some of you… Fortunately you, like me, we only represent a tiny fraction of the rest, so I'll ignore your crap comments - like you should have done with mine, and i should do with yours. Can always down vote comments, but that probably requires brains, and mine doesn't work that well either…
@Waltervp: Down voting comments is gutless. Even your comment doesn’t make sense you’re all over the place. Clearly your brain doesn’t work anymore but good on you for trying!!
filled with rubbish? parents do the same thing.. but now they degrade even slower
Reusable fabric bags have been around longer than plastic… I fail to understand your logic of refusing to use reusable.
When I forget bags I just put stuff in empty boxes.
Give it a go, there's always plenty on shelves. Some stores also have box bins behind the checkouts for anyone to make use of.
I've never used bags. The big rectangular fruit boxes are the best.
You can use the boxes to load in your week's shop. Then unload it onto the checkout and put it all back in on the other side faster than the checkout attendant can process it :) A box last months before needing to be replaced.
It easy to load into the car and also easy to take inside once you get home. Don't have to worry too much about putting heavy things in the bottom of a bag and light things on top.
Only downside is that a box with a full shop can get heavy which might make it hard for some.
I go to a few different supermarkets as they're close by for the various specials on offer that week. That allows me to mostly avoid having too big a shop from a single supermarket. When I have a particularly large shop I sometimes just grab another box and put the light stuff in it and double stack the boxes in the trolly.
I hardly see anyone seems to use the boxes for shopping.
The thing that annoys me is there are no clear metrics on how much this has reduced emmisions/pollution, unless the majority of people reuse the bags more than the break even amount, I've heard its as low as 10 (small plastic) times and as high as 20,000 (large cotton bags). Since the day that coles and woolies annouced the switch (on the same day but no collusion there) they haven't released any info on waste or emission reductions - a cynical person might conclude they wanted to change bags from an expense to a profit making product and weren't acting out of concern for the enviroment at all.
I thought we stopped using single use plastics primarily to reduce the amount going into landfill. Another comment on this post showed it had reduced the use of these bags by 70% or so…
But the newer bags are what, 10 times heavier/thicker? More? Overall that has to be a nett in increase in plastic.
during the covid lock downs, i get about 10-20 of those thick bags per order. of which, these thick bags either have holes or stuck with delivery stickers that rip holes or became too dirty to reuse for future shopping. all up, probably i had to chuck/return about 100+ of these bags because I can't even use them for bin liners.
I altered my bag usage, but there are so many factors outside of my control that just drove costs up for me. If they used thinner bags for deliveries, it would still be ripped but at least it wouldn't be thick plastic bags being thrown out.
better yet, if they used cardboard boxes for deliveries, we can at least reuse the boxes to plant things in the garden.
while it seems to be in the better direction to divert away from excessive plastic bag use, we really need to talk about microplastics in teabags and toiletries (eg scrubs) next.
There may be a case for the thick 99c reusable bags for people who go to the supermarket themselves. They may last so many times longer than the light 15c reusable bags that they produce a nett decrease in plastic waste. But its hard to see a case for the heavy 99c bags for people who getting their shopping delivered who, because they don't actually go to the supermarket, can't and don't take them back reuse them. They just throw them away. That just looks like the supermarket ripping customers off for lots of 99c bags instead of lots of 15c bags,
For everyone who sometimes finds themselves in a situation where you don’t have a bag and don’t want to pay for a new one, supermarket staff should be able to get you an empty cardboard box. Pack it, take it home and recycle the box.
I counted my bags and realised how much I've been spending on them, now I try to keep like 20 in my car at all times so I don't have to pay anymore.
I like to think that having to pay for the bag mostly discourages the people who buy 1-2 items from getting a bag. I just hate seeing a person get a bag for an item they can clearly just carry - still happens alot at shops that give bags for free.
Don't use bags.
I always just go to the drink / chips isle and grab an empty cardboard box.
I'm confused. Is this the first and only time you'll ever shop?
Use the bag again next time.
Its definitely reduced them giving out more bags than you want, although self checkouts mostly fixed that separately.
You’re on OzBargain and you pay for them?
I’ve never paid for a single plastic bag. I’d rather carry or my produce or better yet if you forget your reusable bags just take the trolley to the car and unload.
What did frustrate me at Woolworths pick up was how many plastic bags they used so I quickly stopped using them.
Unfortunately we live in a world where everything is about making it easier and quicker but I like to do the responsible thing (this poll has shocked me and goes to show how many selfish people there are in this page) and think of the environment first. I doubt it’ll seriously affect me in my life time but it will affect my kids and that’s why I do it!
Yes, I actually use fewer when shopping but I have to buy more bin liners now so net outcome is the same but costing me more…
Why would you have to buy more bin bags? Ours hasn’t changed we use the fresh produce bags for our food bin and normal bin bags hasn’t changed.
because fresh produce bags are not the same size, no where near as strong as the old free ones and often get holes from the produce (bananas etc)
That rarely happens, don’t know how you treat your bags but we change the food bin twice a week and the normal bin on bin day, so have not changed our usage at all as we’ve always tried to use less.
@bobwokeup: The bags are significantly different, if you put more than a 2L of milk in them they stretch and break, in the single use bags I could put 3 or 4 of them. If they replace the role of single use bags for you thats great - not everyone is going to have the same bin or other needs as you. I was giving a few of the the differences that may make fresh produce bags unsuitable to fill the role that single use bags filled for some users.
@bobwokeup: What do you mean food bin and normal bin? Are you saying kitchen scraps and general rubbish?
The old grey plastic bags were the perfect thickness and size for bin liners. The fresh produce bags are too thin.
Definitely. Make sure we have a stash of reusable bags in the car boot and return them everytime the shopping is put away. If I forget
I might buy one of the 20c ones but most of the time will just buy less so I can carry it in my arms. Change takes a little effort but every bit helps.Seems like not many have heard of soft plastics at the supermarket? Rather than throwing them out, if they can’t be reuse them, if you return them to the supermarket at the front of the store and they are then recycled.
No…people don't care enough (eg plenty of people throw tissues, styrofoam and soft plastics into recycling. Because they can't read, or don't care?
Or like op, instead of bringing bags to reuse, they buy a new one and bin the old one like a tissue).(That being said, I reuse bags and try to recycle my soft plastics eg chip bags, packaging)
Yep agreed it’s sad that people in general don’t care enough to find more sustainable ways. The writing has been on the wall years before COVID but it feels like we’ve got backwards since that hit. I refuse to wear disposable masks for example and businesses hand them out like they are lollies. Not that we need a mask now but if I forgot mine I’d rather miss out if a mask was mandatory but majority of people wouldn’t even think of that. Ah there’s the issue people need to think haha
I just buy new bags every shop. Doesn’t worry me at all.
This is why we have to change our ways as people like you only think of themselves.
I just don’t care.
No change. I bulk buy the old style bags on eBay. Damned if I'll pay the supermarkets for their bags. The cardboard clips for bread bags annoy me the most. They keep falling off and only save a trivial amount of plastic. I wonder if they even save any money on them.
No change. I bulk buy the old style bags on eBay.
Why would you be proud to admit this?
He's probably causing no more enviromental damage than anyone else. The fact that no one is measuring the reduction in plastic use or CO2 emmisions from this change suggest it is not about doing good but appearing to do good (and turning a cost, single use bags, into a profitable product)
Because I don't blindly go along with plastic hysteria. Covid has spectacularly proven that the we can't live without it. It's here forever so get use to it.
Spoken like a true coward who has no bloody idea. We need to reduce how much plastic we use as it’s have a detrimental effect on the environment and eventually gets into our bodies. COVID has taught us that we need to change how we live, how can you not see that?
@bobwokeup: Good luck surviving the next pandemic without plastic. I don't think hemp has a N95 rating.
That's… More effort than getting a reusable bag.
The old style bags cost about 5 cents if you get a box of 1000. They cost the supermarkets a fraction of one cent.
Maybe and are terrible for the environment in the long run, which is why plastic bags are being gradually removed everywhere.
@bobwokeup: It really depends on how you dispose of the bag, if we put them in deep disused mines or back where the oil came from there wouldn't be an issue. most of the plastic pollution in the ocean comes from certain countries (ussually the ones we used to send our recycling to… hmm maybe we should have just burried it or kept using coal power to make recycling cost effective here with better regulation) single use plastic bags were not a major pollutant and now there are the resuables ending up polluting in simmilar ways.
The wave of straw bans was based on childs "research" but if emissions is the main concern paper straws cause several times more CO2 emissions in their production. But at least people get to look like they care while they need to use additional straws, which largely can't be recycled due to being "contaminated" with food, ending up in the land fill. Just because something is happening everywhere doesn't mean it's a good idea - thalidomide seemed like a good idea and was endorsed by the "science" but I'm not even disputing the science most of these moves don't help based on their own metrics.
Hot damn that's cheap
Biggest scam ever. If they genuinely cared about the environment they would only sell bags made from recycled paper for cost and not sell plastic bags at all. If they did this they would still be making more money than when they were giving away plastic bags for free as costs would be reduced.
All these people here who waste petrol and put CO2 into the atmosphere by driving to the supermarket lecturing everyone else about putting their shopping into bags.
Yes because those sort of people, like myself, would catch public transport if it was easily accessible or use other methods to reduce CO2. They also don’t just save on plastic bags but reduce waste in general and that is what everyone needs to do. We need to weed out that old school way of thinking and open our eyes to what is happening across the globe.
yes people need to stop trying to look like they are doing good and actually measure the imacts of their actions. Across the globe people are struggling to feed themselves because of grain shortages, if people stopped making food into biofuel there would be less starvation. In the US they just realised their corn into ethanol scheme causes 25% more emissions than if they just used normal fuel.
Heh heh, you criticizen Society yet you participate in it!!1!
big brain stuff man
All I know is that every time I purchase online from Woolies/Coles I get plastic bags and it isn't free. I think it is a scam.
Then select bring your own bag. It’s not a scam when you have a choice!!!!
much less, when it first came into effect in the ACT I was bad at remembering to bring bags. now though I just always put my reusable bags back in the boot as soon as I unpack. can't even remember the last time I had to purchase a bag.
I've lived in states where BYO bags were a thing well before it went national, so I guess I've had longer to adjust. But it's routine for us to grab our bag of bags before we do our weekly groceries, and my wife also has a packable bag in her handbag for unexpected stops. I'm sure Colesworth are making some coin on selling bags, but it's basically a lazy tax that's easily avoided. It's really been a non-issue for us for as long as I can remember, and I was surprised that it was the hill that so many were willing to die on when the national ban came in.
That being said, it's absolutely another case of the buck being passed onto the consumer. The amount of soft plastics used by big businesses dwarfs the number of plastic bags handed out many times over. As others have mentioned, Colesworth have also been very half hearted in a lot of ways (e.g. still mandating plastic bags in their increasingly popular delivery services, often using a bag for 1 or 2 items because it helps their logistics). I think still the move to reusable bags is a good step, but it's a drop in the ocean.
I agree, but every additional drop adds up
as long as the bags are used enough times to offset the higher energy and plastics used in their production and any additional bin liners etc that are used - which they probably don't.
No, not at all. I had stopped using plastic bags many years before they started making us pay for them. Can't understand how people can be so indifferent to the environment through their laziness.
I sit on both sides on the fence, they are a scam as they do not reduce consumption of fossil fuels in fact increase it. You now have these bags which weigh 50grams (added weight) and carting them in your car everywhere you go as opposed to the 5 grams one way, bin liner plastic bags of before. At no point do these bags reduce fossil fuel use. Just for the round trip,
Initial purchase and transport x10 weight
Transport back back x10
Vs
Old bags x1 no transport backUses 20x more fuel…
The not scam bit is that you can reuse them for multiple trip therefore trading in the transport cost for material cost.
that means you use less plastic because you re use the thicker bags longer