Five-cent charge for plastic bags on its way

[Paphos Life]

 Consumers are using excessively high numbers of plastic bags MPs heard on Wednesday, as discussion of a bill imposing a charge in a bid to cut plastic usage continued at the House environment committee....

Read the article and chat about it below...

[Dominic]

I agree. It worked really well in the UK, despite initial opposition.

[Varky]

It's not only the cost of making the bag but also the damage to the environment that non-degradable plastic bags cause that is important. Not everything is about money!

[trevnhil]

It's not only the cost of making the bag but also the damage to the environment that non-degradable plastic bags cause that is important. Not everything is about money!

Certainly the plastic bags which we get are degradable if you leave them outside in the sunshine

[DavidatLWH]

Although I shop there all the time I think one of the worst for packing in plastic bags is AlphaMega. It's nice to have an assistant pack all you purchases but they are far too liberal with the bags. Even if you buy one item of, say, vegetables it has to go in a separate plastic bag (even though it is already in a small priced one). I too have got so fed up with it I now make them place all purchases in my own various stores forever bags, Lidl, Orphanides, even Morrisons!

When this was announced, whilst I was in AlphaMega I bought one of their bags for life. At the check-out - you guessed it - the assistant packed it in its own plastic bag.

[Varky]

HiC
I equate your comparison of the amount of energy used to create a cotton bag as compared with 140 plastic bags as a cost in all but name.

[Dominic]

The issue isn't how much energy they take to produce. The issue is what happens to them afterwards.

Besides, lets take one Lidl bag for life. Use that in AlphaMega once a week, to replace 4 carrier bags, assuming you can beat the helper. In a year's time you will still have your Lidl bag, compared to over 200 AlphaMega bags. So in one year, your bag has used less energy than the 200 bags (even though it took 140 bags worth to produce) and it will have prevented 200 bags from cluttering up landfill and picnic areas etc.

It is a no brainer.

[Varky]

You can equate as much as you like...that's not what I said

You concentrated on circumstances, pre distribution by retailers of the bags when it is the post distribution and disposal of the bags that causes the more significant environmental problems, thereby you missed the more important point. Even your argument about production costs has been addressed by Dominic and found to be flawed.

[Firefly]

Can't quite see how one leaves them outside to degrade, what do you do, peg them into the ground or do they just get blown around ?

Jackie

[josef k]

I seem to be missing something here. I use the bags given out by the kiosks and supermarkets etc as bin liners in the various peddle bins I have around the place. If they start charging, then I will refuse to buy them. However, I will still need bin liners, so I will buy a roll of bin liners made for the purpose from the same shop (probably at less than 5c each) and use them instead. I am at a loss as to how this would benefit the environment. I guess I could do without bin liners and keep washing out the peddle bins, putting more chemicals into the environment as a result. But what do I put the contents of the peddle bin into in order to dispose of it. A larger plastic bag I guess.

Am I just not getting it?

[Firefly]

I too use my plastic bags as bin liners, I have my groceries delivered to my door, and they are in bags. I do pay a nominal amount for them, but as the money goes to charity I don't mind.

Jackie